NEARLY 700 cyclists took part in the St David's Hospice Care Tour De Gwent to help raise £50,000 for the charity, writes Alice Rose and Iwan Gabe Davies.

The successful fundraising event, now in its fourth year, has become a popular one, and offers six routes of varying lengths and difficulty, taking in much of Gwent.

The toughest challenge was won by rising cycling star Zach Bridges, 17, a pupil at Newport’s Rougemont School.

He led the pack to win the 93-mile platinum route for hardcore riders, taking in climbs with a total height of 7,352 feet.

Sponsored by Whitehead Building Services, the Tour is designed to appeal to cyclists of all ages and abilities and started at 7.30am yesterday from Caerleon Comprehensive School.

The five other courses were the 78-mile gold route, 52-mile silver route, 35-mile bronze route, 20-mile midi route and three-mile kids' route.

Franca Nigro, events/community fundraising coordinator for St David’s Hospice Care, said: "The majority of riders took on the platinum, gold and silver routes. We had elite cyclists like Zach.

"There was ex-rugby player Alix Popham and a few other serious cyclists."

For more information on the Tour de Gwent, visit http://tourdegwent.org/