The Onegiant Leap’s Downhill Courses in Llangollen is fast making a name for itself as one of the best cycling courses in the UK. This year the venue has hosted a number of prestigious events with the latest, the Halo National British Downhill Series, coming up on the 23/24 of July. Similar events have brought in a couple of thousand of people to watch the skilled riders pushing challenging courses to their limits; you have to see it to believe it.
Cycling provides an important boost to the local economy. The recently held Halo Downhill Series at Llangollen has been calculated to have had a total economic output of £154,000 to the local area, supporting the equivalent of 4 full time persons in employment. Entrants and spectators travelled from all over the country and overseas to the event.
Provision for cycling is currently seeing a boost in North Wales through the Visit Wales Centres of Excellence Scheme, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The North Wales project is a public/private sector partnership that is working to. The project includes Coed Llandegla Forest Mountain Bike Centre, Llyn Brenig the Marin Trail and a new activity hub at Betws y Coed. Events such as the National British Downhill Series shows the economic benefits cycling can bring to an area. Improved facilities will also be of benefit for local people providing more opportunities for people to improve their fitness.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Alun Davies (pictured), said: “I’m delighted to see that the investment we’re making in these centres of excellence is making a difference. This project will establish North Wales as a centre of excellence for cycling by developing current facilities and identify new routes for local people and visitors alike which will increase the duration and numbers of visits for cycling. As well as providing a boost to the local economy, hosting events is an excellent way of raising the profile of the centres and what they have to offer.”
Si Paton, one of the Halo Downhill Series organisers said “Llangollen is a fantastic venue for our downhill series, the course is awesome, the support given locally is great and of course it is surrounded by such a beautiful backdrop. It’s brilliant to watch the cyclist rising to the challenge of the course and the best is still to come, with an even more technically difficult track for the British Downhill Series.”
