THERE were chickens on tandems and a lady riding a classic old bike dressed in a traditional country outfit - it was, of course, the Abergavenny Festival of Cycling’s Traders Race which took place on Friday night.

Liberated from the lycra, the contestants were cheered on by the large crowd for their two laps around the town centre course with the first three crossing the finishing line all coming from Cooks Galley.

The Traders Race is the traditional fun event of the Welsh Open Criterium night at the Festival of Cycling which gives the businesses of the town a chance to let their hair down and have a good time before watching the serious riders take to the streets for the main event of the evening.

This year’s Traders Race was won by Jonathan Bensley, with colleagues Dewi Thomas and Fred Meredith coming home in second and third places respectively.

The other highlights of the race were at the start where ten-year-old Dan Morris caught the rest of the race napping and sped off on his own to the delight of the cheering audience and at the end when the chickens in the shape of Fred Morgan and Tom West from Morgans Solicitors, clucked their way over the line - just!