Pembrey Country Park — Newport

The 15th edition of the modern OVO Energy Tour of Britain, a race that shows off our green and glorious land through the lens of road racing, begins with a stage that celebrates, erm… track cycling. Three of South Wales’ tracks will feel the love today; the stage finishes in Newport, close to the velodrome that Welsh Cycling calls home, and flies by the newly-refurbished Carmarthen Velodrome, an outdoor track that has existed since 1900, but has just had a £580,000 facelift.

The biggest light will be shone on the new 1.9km off-road cycle circuit at Pembrey Country Park, which hosts the stage start. Riders will do a lap of the park and a circuit of the track before heading north into Carmarthen, skirt the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons, then head south into Newport for what will probably be a sprint of some description.

DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY

Andy Hawes: “People might wonder why we didn’t take the race through the heart of the Brecon Beacons but it’s about getting from A to B, which in this case is Pembrey Country Park to Newport. The stage would’ve been too short if we’d taken the direct route. It’ll be a nice rolling stage to open with, taking the race to parts of Wales we’ve never been to before. The final KOM, Belmont Hill, is 8km from the finish, so could punctuate the first stage. It probably won’t be a big bunch sprint, but there’s always the chance someone will slip away. I see it as a reduced group of 20-30 riders contending the sprint.”