Event: 9 September 2012
Location: Wrexham, North Wales
Report: Human Race
The organisers of the Etape Cymru, Human Race, have today announced that Olympic silver medallist, Chris Bartley, will be riding the challenging closed-road sportive on Sunday 9th September 2012.
Bartley became the first Welsh Olympic medallist at London 2012 with silver in the lightweight rowing men's four. The 28-year-old from Wrexham is one of a record 30 Welsh athletes at London 2012 - Wales' best representation at the Games since 1908.
The Etape Cymru is expected to attract over 1500 participants and with its 3000 metres of climbing is likely to challenge even the toughest sportive rider.
Bartley, a keen bike rider who used cycling as a key part of his Olympic preparations, said: “I am really looking forward to taking part in the Etape Cymru. There are some really tough climbs in the route, so it is going to be a hard day in the saddle.”
Starting from Bangor-on-Dee racecourse, situated a few miles southeast of Bartley’s home town of Wrexham, the 92-mile closed-road route passes by the villages of Llangollen, Carrog, and Minera, and takes in a host of the toughest climbs in the Clwydian range, including Panorama, The World’s End, The Shelf and the famous Horseshoe Pass. Riders will once again have the chance to measure their climbing ability against the best in the sport by taking part in the Horseshoe Challenge.
Event ambassador, Geraint Thomas, also had a successful Olympics, adding another gold medal to his collection by winning the team pursuit alongside Peter Kennaugh, Ed Clancy and Steven Burke.
Thomas, who rode part of the Etape Cymru course earlier this year, becomes only the fourth Welshman to win multiple Olympic gold medals.
“The route of the Etape Cymru in North Wales is amazing,” said Thomas. “People from all over the UK are going to have a fantastic day out, it’s the kind of route that makes me proud to be a Welsh cyclist.”
Thomas added: “The great local support that we’re famous for is going to make this a very special day on the cycling calendar. I wish the best to everyone who is riding the event, it’ll be tough but the closed roads are going to be a top experience.”
The official national charity partner for Etape Cymru 2012 is Macmillan Cancer Support. The partnership will see Macmillan join forces with Human Race for the event and funds raised from participants will be used to help Macmillan support not only people affected by cancer, but everyone their cancer has an impact on, from partners, to children, to friends and carers.
The local charity partner is Nightingale House. The charity provides specialist palliative care services, completely free-of-charge, to patients and their families across a wide area stretching from Wrexham, Flintshire and East Denbighshire to Barmouth and the border towns including Oswestry and Whitchurch.
Entry costs £55. For more information, please visit: http://www.etape-cymru.co.uk.
