DESPITE being dogged with controversy and plagued by accusations of 'organised chaos,' Velothon Wales has been hailed as an overwhelming success by the management team who insist the epic road race is here to stay.

The inaugural Velothon was such a triumph of lycra over adversity that event director Andy Taylor explained he'd like to see hordes of cyclists still thundering down our highways and byways en masse for the next 25 years as the Velothon becomes an annual fixture we can all look forward to celebrating.

"It has been amazing and we have had the most phenomenal day," explained Taylor.

"The people of Wales have come out and supported us tremendously and the event has been hugely successful.

"There have been challenges this year and there are lessons to be learned, but I think we have delivered a safe and successful event with as minimum disruption as possible.

"This is a massive event, one of the biggest cycling events in the world and we have delivered it.

"This is just the beginning for us. Initially we are here for that four-year period with the Welsh Assembly Government, but we have been running an event in Hamburg which is a world tour event that has been going for almost 25 years.

"The idea for all our events is to create sustainable events that are here to stay. We are not here to just jump in and disappear again. Ideally we would love to be here in 25 years."

Some 15,000 riders from across Europe rode in the Velothon's 50km and 140km Sportives and a

194km professional race, won by Denmark's Martin Mortensen.

Starting in Cardiff city at 7am, the event saw riders powering their way through a closed road circuit which cut through large swathes of South-East Wales, including Usk, Llanellen, Llanoist, Govilon, Blaenavon and the legendary Tumble climb.

The road closures caused by the Velothon sparked a tirade of complaints from many local people who told the Chronicle they felt the cycling would force them to become 'prisoners in their own home.'

One 'hopping mad' resident even snarled that the Velothon equated to, "Nine hours of infringement on my liberty."

Now that the dust has settled and the two wheels have departed, event organiser Taylor is keen to stress that the Velothon will continue to work alongside local residents and businesses to ensure future events run as smoothly as possible.

"With any large-scale event that involves road closures like this there is going to be disruption," explained Taylor.

"We tried to find alternative routes for people if they needed to go to wedding or any other events they had organised. We didn't want to disrupt their day. We worked hard with residents and businesses to ensure it had a positive economic impact in local area."

Abergavenny Road Club Chairman Jack Thurston praised both the event and local people's warm reception to the "biggest bike ride on Welsh soil."

"The event seemed to go off very well indeed, barring the morons who sprinkled tacks on the road at Caerleon, causing some quite nasty injuries to a couple of riders," explained Thurston.

"What has come through to me in the hours since the Velothon, is the sheer delight in the scenery of our part of the world, from the many people who'd come for the first time and the warmth of the welcome on the streets from residents. There were people cheering all the way around the course and several families in Govilon had set up impromptu refreshment stands in their front gardens, handing up water and so forth to the riders."

Although Thurston is ready to admit that their is definite room for improvement in regard to communications between the event organisers and local residents, he believes that such "teething problems" can be effectively ironed out.

"As by far the biggest bike ride ever on Welsh soil, there's no doubt there have been teething troubles and the organisers have much to learn from what went wrong as well as what went right. It seems pretty clear that communications with local residents can be improved, more notice given on the road closures, provision of alternative parking options for residents, and more can be done to help local businesses come up with imaginative ideas to make the most of the event.

"For example I heard of a couple of pubs on the route who'd set up BBQs in the road and were doing a roaring trade among people turning out to watch."

The Velothon which has raised an estimated £300,000 for charities was also hailed by former Wales flanker and cling enthusiast Colin Charvis as "One of my top five cycling days ever."

Charvis explained, "As the Welsh football team have shown by beating Belgium we are not just about the oval ball anymore I was privileged to be part of the first Velothon.

"The roads being closed created such a nice atmosphere for the riders who supported each other up the climbs and giggled down the other side.

"We should feel proud as Welsh people. The Velethon has its detractors but whatever you do, people are always going to find something to complain about."