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Belgium’s Wout van Aert was crowned 2023 Tour of Britain champion in Caerphilly on Sunday September 10 – becoming one of just three cyclists to have won two Tours of Britain.
The Jumbo-Visma rider celebrated by spraying champagne into the crowd at the Twyn car park, where the stage was set for the medal and trophy presentations.
Van Aert finished second in Caerphilly, 11 seconds behind INEOS Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodriguez, who at one point looked set to wrestle overall victory away from the Belgian late on.
Speaking after the stage, Van Aert said: “It feels great. We’ve had such an amazing week as a team, starting off with five stage wins in a row, it’s pretty incredible.
“From then on it was a lot of pressure on us in this race, but we managed to control every stage basically. So we’re super proud, especially to finish off that teamwork.
“It was a super tough stage with the course this year, the weekend was really decisive and we went really all in for the GC.
“Today the climbs were a bit longer which is tricky for me especially compared with riders like Rodriguez and [Stevie] Williams who are 20kg lighter than me.
“I had to stay calm and trust my teammates. I really had to think a lot in that final.”
The eighth and final stage saw the 91 riders take on the 166km journey between Margam Park, near Port Talbot, and Caerphilly town centre.
The journey saw them pass through Porthcawl, the outskirts of Bridgend, through Ogmore-by-Sea and Southerndown before heading up to Cowbridge.
From there, they carried on towards Llanharry and Pencoed and up the Ogmore Valley, over the steep Bwlch Mountain and into Treorchy, then Treherbert and up towards the Rhigos.
The cyclists then headed through Hirwaun and down into Aberdare, before coming down the Rhondda Fawr, and into the Cynon Valley.
The tour came through Abercynon before entering Caerphilly County Borough and passing through Nelson, Tredomen, Ystrad Mynach, Llanbradach before finally reaching Caerphilly town.
The cyclists past thousands of spectators in the town before heading up Caerphilly mountain, coming down past Castle View and back into town through Nantgarw Road, before another lap of the mountain and around town again before reaching the finishing line on Castle Street.
The Welsh Government’s deputy minister for arts, sport and tourism, Dawn Bowden MS, said: “Wales’ credentials for hosting cycling events is now well-established.
“The Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour are the perfect showcase for our landscape as well as the welcome we provide to the competitors and spectators.”
Ms Bowden, who represents the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency, continued: “Congratulations to Wout van Aert and to all involved in organising the event.
“I hope that seeing some of the world’s best riders over the past week has inspired people to get active and explore Wales on their bikes.”
Visit the Tour of Britain website for full results and standings.
Highlights of stage eight will available on demand via ITVX.
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