MONMOUTHSHIRE'S status as the Cycling Capital of Wales has been boosted with another cycling coup for 2014 – with more exciting news to follow later in the year.

The Tour of Britain is coming to the county just weeks after Monmouthshire hosts this year's British Cycling National Road and Time Trial Championships and Championship Sportive in June.

It will see stars from the Continental ProTour take on the best of British riders across eight stages, with Monmouthshire being the third leg of the event.

And there will be no better finish in this year's Tour of Britain, which starts in Liverpool on September 7 and arrives in Monmouthshire on September 9, than when thousands of people line the summit of the iconic Tumble Mountain on the outskirts of Abergavenny for the mountain top finish.

The Tour of Britain organisers announced on Monday evening (March 31) that Monmouthshire will see the finish of Stage Three of the annual race that was won last year by Sir Bradley Wiggins.

Stage Three will start in Newtown, Powys, and, while the precise route is not complete yet, the riders will go through the Black Mountains and into Abergavenny before the spectacular conclusion at the summit of one of the UK's great cycling climbs.

It will be the second leg to be held in Wales during the race - the other finishing in Llandudno - and another amazing coup for Monmouthshire.

Ian Saunders, Head of Tourism, Leisure and Culture at Monmouthshire County Council, said: "Getting the finish of a stage of the Tour of Britain this year is a real coup in itself but for the riders to race up the Tumble Mountain near Abergavenny for the finish will be as spectacular as you can get.

"With the National Road and Time Trial Championships and Championship Sportive less than three months away, this fantastic news just confirms that Monmouthshire is really becoming a major player in staging cycling events across the UK. The Tour of Britain leg will now also give us a presence on a European platform as we see Continental riders from some great teams battling it out on our roads."

Team Sky member Luke Rowe, from Cardiff, won Stage One of the 2012 Tour of Britain and said Monmouthshire will be in for a real treat when the competition rolls into town.

Rowe, who is expected to enter the National Road Championships in the coming weeks, said: "It is another massive opportunity for people to see the world's best. I may be riding the Vuelta (de Espana) this year so I don't know if I will be riding the Tour of Britain but I have ridden it a few times now and the Welsh stage is said to be the best stage of them all."