Velothon Wales: Thousands of cyclists take part in race
- Published
Cyclists faced 1,826m of climbing during the popular race
More than 8,000 cyclists have taken part in a race across south-east Wales, in sweltering heat.
The fourth Velothon Wales started and ended in Cardiff, but took in Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Caerphilly.
Temperatures were expected to reach 28C (82.4F) in the capital while both amateur and professional cyclists competed.
A series of road closures were in place throughout the day, with the last closed road reopening at 17:00 BST.
Cyclists took on one of three distances - 87 miles (140km), 78 miles (125km) and 37 miles (60km).
The first person to finish the long race was Robert Grover, of Bath-based team Velo Club Walcot, who crossed the line in three hours, 45 minutes and 49 seconds.
The first woman to finish was Kim Bainbridge, from Leatherhead, Surrey, who raced over the finish line in four hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds.
The event's official Twitter account had to put a plea out, asking good Samaritans not to hand out food and water to weary cyclists for risk of creating queues of racers at unofficial sites.
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Run 4 Wales chief executive Matt Newman said: "Local communities turned out in their droves once again to cheer on our amateur riders to make the 2018 instalment a truly unforgettable event."
The longest race started and ended in Cardiff, taking in the Brecon Beacons, Pontypool, Newbridge and Caerphilly, the 78-mile race also started and ended in Cardiff, and the 37-mile race started in Usk and ended in the capital.
Cardiff council had warned of temporary road closures across the city, but organisers said they were "significantly reduced" this year.
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Two of the races started and ended in Cardiff
For the two longer events, competitors left Cardiff from the civic centre, headed down Castle Street, on to High Street and out of the city towards the Magic Roundabout, Splott.
They then headed east - along Ocean Way, Rover Way, Lamby Way, through Wentloog towards Newport.
When the competitors returned to Cardiff, they came over Caerphilly Mountain, down through Lisvane, into Cyncoed and back into Cathays, finishing at the civic centre.
The temperature in Cardiff was already about 18C (65f) when riders set off at 07:00
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