Crowds turn out in droves for Snowdonia Etape Eryri 2016

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Taking on the unique problem of Drws y Coed. Pic by SportpicturesCymru

Changeable weather, big crowds and a breath-taking, mountainous route is what greeted around a thousand cyclists this weekend, as the 2016 Snowdonia Etape Eryri continued to firmly establish itself amongst the UK’s best cycle sportives.

 

Now in its fourth year the Always Aim High Events sportive entertained cyclists from across the UK as they took to the roads of Snowdonia and the 103, 76 and 47 mile routes. The historic Castle Square in Caernarfon was transformed into a festival of entertainment for the day with a sporting-party atmosphere seldom seen at any cycling event.

 

The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive many praising the beauty of the course, the high number of marshals and the quality of the feed stations.

 

Julian Allen on Twitter commented: “@aahevents Brilliantly organised event as always.”

 

Local cycling legend and Team Sky Managing Director, Sir David Brailsford was honoured at the event this year with the unveiling of the ‘Brailsford Way’ – two cycling routes which follow the Etape Eryri ‘Bach’ and ‘Canol’ circuits.

 

Sir Brailsford was presented with a slate plaque with a commemorative poem inscribed on it by Gwynedd Council in front of a crowd of hundreds. Sir Brailsford also generously donated £1,000 to the local cancer charity ‘Gafael Llaw’ during the ceremony in which he spoke about his childhood growing up in Deiniolen.

 

The first male Etape Xtrem rider across the line was Lee Evans, who completed ‘world’s longest single day cycle sportive’ in a staggering time of 13:41:26. The Etape Xtrem is infamous – 226 miles in 18 hours, only a few people a year manage to complete it!

 

Full Etape Bach, Canol, Mawr and Xtrem results can be found via the TDL Event Services site, with further info on the Etape Eryri and all of the Always Aim High Events line-up via alwaysaimhighevents.com

If the success of this year’s event has inspired you to take part, then you can register your interest in the 2017 Etape Eryri here.