The TransWales Stages: The Complete 2006 Route Day by Day

The TransWales was a seven-day mountain bike stage race that looped through mid-Wales from Builth Wells and back again. Its first edition, the Merida TransWales ‘06, ran from 12 to 19 August 2006, and the organisers published a complete stage breakdown before the start — a roadbook of dates, distances, climbing figures and overnight locations. That document survives, and this page reconstructs it in full, day by day, together with a look at how the trans wales route shifted in the editions that followed.

How the stages worked

The event combined two very different kinds of riding, in a format the organisers themselves compared to a car rally. The linking stages were long, un-timed point-to-point rides between overnight camps; the aim was to conserve energy, spare the equipment and finish inside a cut-off time announced at the morning briefing. The special stages were the opposite: short, timed courses on purpose-built trail-centre singletrack, ridden against the clock, where a single mistake could decide a podium.

Every stage was preceded by a briefing at which the organisers announced the cut-off time and walked riders through the length and profile of the course — the only time the full profile was revealed, which made pacing a genuine tactical decision. The published distances, start times and riding durations were all flagged as approximate and provisional, subject to change during the event week.

Saturday 12 August 2006 — registration at Builth Wells

The event opened at White House Farm in Builth Wells, a few minutes’ walk from the town centre along the A470. There was no riding on day one. The programme consisted of:

Registration (signing on open from 12 noon to 8 pm — there was no registration on Sunday)
Equipment check
Event bag handout
Initial briefing
Pasta party

Competitor parking was at the farm for the week, and the campsite opened the same day.

Sunday 13 August 2006 — linking stage one: Builth Wells to Nant-y-Arian

Distance: 85 km
Climbing: 2,600 m
Predicted riding time: 7 hours
Start: 9.00 am, White House Farm, Builth Wells (A483)
Predicted finish: 4.00 pm
Overnight camp: Tymawr Farm campsite, near Ponterwyd

The longest single-day climbing total of the opening weekend came straight away: 2,600 m of ascent on the way to the trail centre at Nant-y-Arian. The route crossed moorland flanks and dropped into the flooded Elan Valley before sweeping west through the heart of Wales.

Monday 14 August 2006 — special stage one, then on to Machynlleth

Special stage one — Nant-y-Arian relay time trial

Distance: 16 km
Climbing: 310 m
Format: relay time trial — the first rider rode the first half, the second rider took over and finished the loop; the fastest team time counted
Start: 9.30 am at the Nant-y-Arian trail centre (A44), teams off every 30 seconds, 120 teams an hour, last starter at roughly 11.00 am, finishing by 12.00 pm

Linking stage two — Nant-y-Arian to Machynlleth

Distance: 33 km
Climbing: 800 m
Predicted riding time: 3 hours
Start: 1.00 pm from the Nant-y-Arian trail centre
Predicted finish: 4.00 pm
Overnight camp: Machynlleth Leisure Centre

At 33 km this was the shortest linking stage of the week — deliberately so, coming directly after the first timed test of the event.

Tuesday 15 August 2006 — the long haul to Coed-y-Brenin and the night stage

Linking stage three — Machynlleth to Coed-y-Brenin

Distance: 72 km
Climbing: 2,300 m
Predicted riding time: 6 hours
Start: 9.00 am from Machynlleth Leisure Centre
Predicted finish: 3.00 pm
Overnight camp: Cefndeuddwr Farm, north of Ganllwyd

In the event itself, this leg was altered slightly at the last minute because of a land dispute; the daily race report recorded the ridden stage at 68 km with 2,100 m of climbing, still finishing at Coed-y-Brenin.

Special stage two — the Coed-y-Brenin night team time trial

Distance: 10 km
Climbing: 280 m
Format: night team time trial — both team riders started together and both had to finish the complete course, with the two riders’ times added together to give the team time
Start: 8.30 pm at the old Coed-y-Brenin trail centre (A470), teams off every 30 seconds, last starter at roughly 10.00 pm, finishing by 11.00 pm

Riders needed lights fully charged in advance — the organisers provided no charging points during the week, and this Tuesday night stage was the only one ridden in the dark.

Wednesday 16 August 2006 — linking stage four: Coed-y-Brenin to the Cli-machx trail

Distance: 75 km
Climbing: 3,000 m
Predicted riding time: 7 hours
Start: 9.00 am from Cefndeuddwr Farm
Predicted finish: 4.00 pm
Overnight camp: Llwyngwern Farm campsite, south of Corris

With 3,000 m of ascent, this was the biggest climbing day in the roadbook — the race reports later christened it “The Longest Day”. There was no special stage; the day was all about surviving the vertical.

Thursday 17 August 2006 — special stage three, then on to Llanafan

Special stage three — Cli-machx relay time trial

Distance: 15 km
Climbing: 340 m
Format: relay time trial — first rider rode the first half, the second rider took over and finished the loop; the fastest team time counted
Start: 8.30 am at the Cli-machx trail head (south off Corris, A487), teams off every 30 seconds, last starter at roughly 10.00 am

Linking stage five — Cli-machx to Llanafan

Distance: 65 km
Climbing: 1,900 m
Predicted riding time: 5.5 hours
Start: 11.30 am from the Cli-machx trail head
Predicted finish: 5.00 pm
Overnight camp: Llanafan school and football fields

Friday 18 August 2006 — the biggest day, plus the final special stage

Linking stage six — Llanafan to Rhandirmwyn

Distance: 90 km
Climbing: 2,800 m
Predicted riding time: 7.5 hours
Start: 8.30 am from Llanafan
Predicted finish: 4.00 pm
Overnight camp: Llwyndinawed Farm, south-west of Rhandirmwyn

At 90 km this was the longest stage in the roadbook, and it still was not the whole day’s work.

Special stage four — the Cwm-y-Rhayader trail

Distance: 7 km
Climbing: 260 m
Format: two options were offered — either only one rider needed to ride for a stage time, with both riders free to ride individually and the fastest time counting; or a relay, with the first rider riding to the top and a steep short cut to the handover, and the second rider finishing the loop
Timing: run in the late afternoon and evening, with the last starter at roughly 7.15 pm and the stage finishing at 8.00 pm

Cwm-y-Rhayader was one of the newest trails in Wales at the time, built as a community project — and it hosted the stage that settled the overall classification.

Saturday 19 August 2006 — linking stage seven: back to Builth Wells

Distance: 75 km
Climbing: 2,500 m
Predicted riding time: 6 hours
Start: 9.00 am from Llwyndinawed Farm
Predicted finish: 3.00 pm
Finish: White House Farm, Builth Wells

The final stage brought the event full circle to where it had begun, followed by the finisher party and the final prize presentation on the Saturday evening. The campground stayed open until Sunday so nobody had to drive home straight after a week like that.

The 2006 totals

The roadbook summed the week as follows:

Overall distance (with special stages): approx. 543 km (338 miles)
Overall climbing (with special stages): approx. 15,990 m (52,460 feet)
Overall distance (without special stages): approx. 495 km (308 miles)
Overall climbing (without special stages): approx. 14,800 m (48,556 feet)

For comparison, the launch-year press coverage claimed that on paper this made the TransWales tougher than the TransRockies, the Canadian event that partly inspired it.

How the Trans Wales route changed in later editions

The 2006 roadbook was a one-off. When the event returned in 2008 after a year in Scotland, the organisers answered the question directly in their FAQ: the 2008 course was “completely new in most places”, reusing some special-stage locations but running quite differently. The 2008 edition headed south first — from Builth Wells to Cilycwm near Llandovery, with the night time trial at Cwmrhaedr on the very first evening — then west through Brechfa Forest before turning north to Machynlleth and the Climachx trail, and finally back to Builth. Its published totals were around 550 km with 15,500 m of climbing.

The 2009 edition changed the format again: most special stages were run within the linking stages rather than as separate morning or evening sessions, so riders rode to the timed course, raced it, and carried on to the day’s finish. That year’s route ran Builth Wells–Llanidloes–Machynlleth–Cwmystwyth–Cilycwm–Llansawel–Llanwrtyd Wells–Builth Wells, totalling over 500 km with about 14,500 m of climbing. In 2010 the start moved to Penmaenau Farm near Builth Wells, the opening stage ran east to Knighton, and the first special stage was a short, brutal 500 m climbing time trial — proof that the stage formula kept evolving to the end.

Frequently asked questions

How long was the 2006 TransWales in total?

Including the four special stages, the roadbook totalled approximately 543 km (338 miles) with 15,990 m (52,460 feet) of climbing over seven riding days. Without the special stages, the linking stages alone came to roughly 495 km with 14,800 m of ascent.

What was the difference between a linking stage and a special stage?

Linking stages were long, un-timed rides between overnight camps, ridden against a cut-off time announced at the morning briefing. Special stages were short, timed courses on trail-centre singletrack — relay or team time trials ridden flat out against the clock — and only these counted towards the classification.

Where did the 2006 TransWales start and finish?

Both the start and the finish were at White House Farm in Builth Wells. The route looped out through Nant-y-Arian, Machynlleth, Coed-y-Brenin, the Cli-machx trail, Llanafan and Rhandirmwyn before returning to Builth Wells on the final Saturday.

Which trail centres hosted the 2006 special stages?

Four venues: Nant-y-Arian (16 km relay time trial), Coed-y-Brenin (10 km night team time trial), the Cli-machx trail near Corris (15 km relay) and the Cwm-y-Rhayader trail (7 km, ridden solo or as a relay).

Did riders have to complete the special stages?

No. The special stages were optional — riders could sit any of them out or ride them without worrying about the clock. Anyone wanting a result in the overall classification, however, had to take part in all four.

How did riders know the cut-off times for each stage?

Cut-off times were announced only at the briefing held shortly before each linking stage started. The briefing was also the only occasion on which riders saw the full course profile, which made judging pace over the day part of the challenge.

Did the TransWales route stay the same in later years?

No. The organisers stated that the 2008 course was completely new in most places, though some 2006 special-stage venues returned. The 2009 edition moved the timed stages inside the linking stages, and 2010 started from Penmaenau Farm with an opening leg east to Knighton.