Thousands cycle the beautiful island of Anglesey as the Tour de Môn storms into its third year!

Sunday 23rd August saw over 1,600 cyclists saddle up to tackle one of the 3 rides on offer at the Tour de Mon cycle sportive. The Mawr (103 miles), Canol (75 miles) and Bach (40 miles).

One of the main highlights of the mega popular sportive is the Flying Mile. The Flying Mile is the only competitive section of the Tour de Mon and gives the cyclists the chance to race against the clock and their fellow riders for a perfectly straight mile on the runway at RAF Valley.

The fastest male over the Flying Mile was Gerallt Roberts who recorded an outstanding time of 01:59, while the quickest female rider to complete the section was Steph Duits who achieved an equally impressive time of 02:12. Both cyclists received a bespoke prize and Roberts was presented with the Christopher Wright Memorial Award.

The Tour de Môn saw the start of the Ride Anglesey festival kick off in spectacular fashion. Ride Anglesey is a two-week festival of cycling events leading up to the Tour of Britain Grand Depart. Two highlights of the festival will be the free Taith de Teulu family ride in Amlwch and the Ride the Tour sportive. Click here to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the fantastic events coming up.

Always Aim High Events Director, event organiser and Anglesey resident, Nigel Kendrick was delighted with the success of the event:

“It’s been an unbelievable day, it’s been brilliant! The response we’ve had from cyclists and supporters has been incredible. It was also great to see so many children take part in the family cycle and children races.

It really is a fantastic way to start the Ride Anglesey festival. We’d like to thank NDA, Magnox, Cavendish Fluor Partnership and Anglesey County Council for their support. The Festival really gathers momentum now with loads of different cycling activities taking place over the next couple of weeks”

Kendrick added:

“As an Anglesey resident it’s great to see so many people coming from afar and seeing how fantastic this island is. The majority of these people have stayed in local accommodation, eaten at nearby restaurants and spent their money in other Anglesey businesses, which has an absolutely huge positive impact on the local economy.”

Events Manager Rob Samuel echoed Kendrick’s comments:

“It’s been a great day, seeing so many people here has been incredible. Despite the challenging conditions the feedback has once again been fantastic. Without the amazing team of staff, marshals and volunteers we really couldn’t make this happen, therefore, a massive thanks must go out to all of them. I’d also like to thank our event partners; Anglesey County Council, Magnox, NDA, Cavendish Fluor Partnership, Chain Reaction Cycles, High 5, Pentraeth Group, Full of Beans, Jones o Gymru, Superfeet, Kon-x, Morrisons, The Bulkley Hotel and Tre-ysgawen Hall for their support.”

Full Tour de Mon Bach, Canol and Mawr times can be found via the TDL Event Services site, with further info on the Tour de Mon and all of the Always Aim High Events line-up via www.alwaysaimhighevents.com

If the success of this year’s even has inspired you to take part, then you can register your interest in the 2015 Tour de Mon here.

To register for any Ride Anglesey events click here.

All photos: TDM Mel Parry