Many people may have known that the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales hosted the hugely successful British National Track Championships 2022 back in August.
Newport’s Riverfront Theatre is to continue with the cycling theme by welcoming cycling icons; ITV’s Tour De France commentator, Ned Boulting and record breaking, long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont for two forthcoming events.
Ned Boulting is a British sports journalist and television presenter best known for his coverage of football, cycling and darts. After a year away from the front line, Ned Boulting returns with a fresh assault on our cycling senses.
“Retour de Ned” is an indispensable theatrical road map for anyone aspiring to wear the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysées: a guide to the tactics (pedal faster) and challenges (not pedalling fast enough) which will need to be deployed to win the biggest bike race in the world. Along the way, there will be time to call to mind the greatest racers of the age, and to do hopelessly bad impressions of them. There will be scope to celebrate all that is French about France, and all that is Tourish about the Tour: stuff like ignoring 12th century cathedrals, peeing at the side of the road, pushing spectators over, punching demonstrators and generally behaving like a shaven-legged hooligan for a month while riding over entire mountain ranges.
Audiences will experience a ride through the peaks and troughs of the silliest and the grandest month of the year, as Ned hands out his copious, thoroughly unreliable, advice on How To Win The Tour de France. Or if not that, then at least How To Watch It On The Telly.
Ned Boulting ‘Retour de Ned’ is arriving at The Riverfront Theatre on Wednesday 12 October at 7:30pm.
The second celebrity rider coming to Newport to tell all is Mark Beaumont BEM. Mark currently holds the record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle; he completed an 18,000-mile (29,000 km) around the world in less than 79 days. Five years on from his famous ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, Mark has just broken another record for the fastest ride round NC500 (North Coast 500 Route), in which he completed in under 29 hours on Saturday 24 September 2022.
Mark adventures have taken him to over 100 countries over the past twenty years, making him one of the most respected ultra-endurance athletes on the planet. His tour, ‘Faster’ captures the wanderlust to find new disciplines of cycling and new wild places, including those closer to home. As Mark turns 40, he reflects on a career which has evolved from the footloose epics of his 20s, now building towards a level of performance and precision that allows him to continue to push boundaries.
Mark Beaumont Faster is coming to The Riverfront Theatre on Wednesday 8 February at 7.30pm.
- Tickets for both events can be booked by calling 01633 656757 via the Newport Live website.