The beast is Back!
Thousands descended on South Wales on Sunday morning to take on the legendary Dragon Ride and its gruelling climbs. We were promised rain but what we got was an epic display of fortitude, grit and determination, with some riders taking on up to 132miles of cycling and over 10,500ft of climbing.
A massive congratulations to everyone who slayed the Dragon today and earned themselves our new eco-friendly wooden medal. If you weren’t able to join us or you just want to relive the day, we’ve compiled a list of the best moments below:
- It started at a moonlit 07:05 with the first Gran Fondo riders setting off
The first riders are off! pic.twitter.com/U17KZNeERv
— Dragon Ride (@DragonRideWales) September 26, 2021
- The Waldy Wheelers were amongst the riders in our middle distance, the Medio Fondo
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- The first riders through feed station 4 swapped 2 wheels for 4 legs…
- We passed several riders tackling the Rhigos climb. 5.6km with an average gradient of 4% and maxing out at 8%.
- It wouldn’t be the Dragon Ride without the Welsh weather having its say
- Just after midday and the first riders returned…
- and picked up their well-deserved medal!
- Back on the course, more riders were beginning their ascents
- Every year riders are timed on their climb up the Devil’s Elbow and this year was no different, below was the top five times of the day for men and women, with Ben Haghorne and Megan Wilson coming in first place to win the Rapha King and Queen of the mountain award.
Men
- Ben Haghorne – 05:17
- Tom Damant – 05:22
- Alex Webb – 05:26
- Andrew Brockway – 05:28
- Jack Stewardson – 05:33
Women
- Megan Wilson – 06:05
- Leah Walland – 06:23
- Megan Chapple – 06:29
- Olivia Tsim- 06:29
- Lucy Commander – 06:31
- And in the event village, after the finish, there were plenty of smiling faces…
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Thank you to everyone who rode, volunteered, marshalled, fed, cheered and took some part in today’s event. After last years cancellation we are so happy to be back and the atmosphere did not disappoint. We’re planning to go even bigger and better next year and we hope you’ll join us. With the increased demand, places have continued to go through a ballot. You can find a link to this here.