The Newport Nocturne is set to return this August. Founded in 1989, the Newport Nocturne is Britain’s original floodlit cycle race.
The event has a carnival atmosphere attracting cycle fans and the general public alike. It generally features live bands, cobbles, Ferrari lead cars and the winner even gets his weight in beer, measured on giant scales!
Past editions have included unique road Derny (small motorcycle) paced races, ex-Pro races, a road keirin and one lap time trials, such as the “Battle for Beijing” and the “Olympian Challenge”, starring the likes of Sean Kelly, Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, David Millar, Roger Hammond and even Olympic Track Champion Jason Queally, in a rare road appearance.
The course is a 1.2-mile loop covered many times (each race is run by time, rather than exact number of laps, for instance 50 minutes + 5 laps). The course takes in most of the town centre, with a small number of residential roads.
The 11th edition will take place on Saturday 18th August 2018 with racing normally beginning at 7pm with a women’s’ race, followed at by some sort of exhibition race at around 8.15pm. Finally, the main Pro/Elite men’s race gets under way at 9pm, finishing at 10pm.
