AROUND 8,000 riders and many more thousands of supporters braved the sweltering heat to ensure that Sunday’s Velothon Wales - the biggest closed-road event of its kind in Wales - was a roaring success.

2018 was the fourth annual running of the race which has now welcomed more than 35,000 cycling enthusiasts since its inception.

Cyclists who signed up for the gruelling 140km and 125km courses set off from Cardiff, past the castle and east to Newport, ultimately taking on the 5km Category 2 Tumble climb in Blaenavon, in temperatures of around 27C.

The climb, with a gradient of 10 per cent, proved more challenging than ever in the searing heat, with Mark Woodrow claiming the King of the Mountain jersey and Caitlin Hawkins claiming the Queen of the Mountain award.

Nearly 400 first-time riders then set off from Usk on the newly-introduced 60km challenge, to join the stream of cyclists heading towards the final significant climb at Caerphilly Mountain.

The town of Usk was once again decorated with colourful and eye-catching cycling creations and hundreds of enthusiastic supporters lined the route to cheer on the riders.

Some Monmouthshire residents have previously expressed their concerns over the organisation of the Velothon, with the impact of road closures and the amount of litter left by participants and visitors of particular concern.

A report showed that last year’s Velothon cost the county council around £20,000 - £2,000 of which included additional road sweeping and clearing litter - and it was expected to be a similar story this year.

One major improvement for residents living along the route has undoubtedly been the introduction of rolling road closures.

There were also many positive comments about the event on social media.

But, while the event is promoted as a major boost for local businesses, some businesses see it very differently.

David Neale, assistant manager at The Three Salmons Hotel in Usk said: “The organisers think it brings business into the area but it has the opposite effect. It’s a good event to watch and lots of local residents line the streets but visitors stay away because of the road closures.

“We normally do 70 to 80 Sunday lunches but this weekend we only did 30. It’s a similar story for most businesses here.”

Nichola Fisher, owner of The Crosskeys Inn, went further, describing the velothon as a ‘disaster’ for any businesses that weren’t directly on the route of the race, adding that it had been ‘totally unnecessary’ to close the main street to traffic from 7.30am to 12.20pm.

“Staff can’t get in and visitors are put off by the road closures. We had fewer than half our normal number of customers on Sunday.

“It would be far better if the event was shared with North and West Wales - or not staged at all!” she said, adding “We’ve made our feelings known, but no-one listens!”