THE annual Tour de Gwent cycling event, sponsored by Newport firm Whiteheads, has been boosted with a huge entry from a local club.

Caerphilly county based UCY Cycling Club - Union Cycliste Ystrad Mynach, a road cycling club based in Ystrad Mynach, has signed up 22 riders for the testing event.

The Whitehead Tour de Gwent 19 takes place on Sunday, April 14, across six routes ranging from the 93 mile platinum route to the three mile route for kids and is staged in aid of St David's Hospice Care.

Steve Date, of UCY Cycling Club, said: “We currently have 108 members, ranging in age from 18 to 64 and organise rides every Saturday and Sunday, and Tuesdays and Thursday during the spring and summer months.

“Each year we ask our members to nominate a charity that they'd like us to support for the coming season, which the members vote on at our AGM.

“A couple of our members have had need to use St David’s Hospice Care services in the past, and can't speak highly enough of them and the service they provide, so for this season we have chosen St David’s Hospice Care as our charity.

“What this means is that any particular cycling related challenges that our members are doing this year we ask them to try and raise money in the form of sponsorship for the charity.

“This year as St David’s Hospice Care organise the Whitehead Tour de Gwent, we thought it would be good for the club to get as many members as possible to enter the event. The club has subsidised our members if they are entering. We have 22 confirmed entries up to now, all doing either the Gold or Platinum routes.

“A couple of our members have done it before and although the event uses local roads that most of us know and have cycled over the years, it will still be a good early season challenge for us all, with the bonus of knowing that we've helped the charity along the way.”

Franca Nigro, of St David’s Hospice Care who is organising the Tour de Gwent, said: “We’re thrilled to have received such great support from UCY Cycling Club for this year’s Whitehead Tour de Gwent.

“With the cancelling of the South Wales Velothon our event is proving very popular as an alternative for cyclists looking to challenge themselves and also to enjoy the unique scenic course provided by the Whitehead Tour de Gwent.”

For more details on the event and how to enter visit www.tourdegwent.org.