THERE is growing controversy surrounding this weekend’s Wales Velothon cycling event.

As we have been reporting this week, some businesses and residents are unhappy about the effect major road closures will have on them.

The event has split opinion on our website and our Facebook page, with more than 200 comments left by readers across the two sites.

The majority of road closures across Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Cardiff are for around eight hours.

Some businesses claim they will lose thousands of pounds because of the event and have criticised what they perceive to be a lack of communication surrounding it.

Some people have even taken to vandalising road closures signs set up in advance of the Velothon, scrawling ‘NO’ on them.

The issue is not the event itself. Most people who are critical of the arrangements put in place for Sunday’s Velothon are unhappy with its organisation, but supportive of the event.

And that pretty much explains my stance on the issue. The Velothon is a welcome addition to the growing number of major sporting events being staged in Wales.

It adds to the nation’s reputation as a sporting centre of excellence and, in particular, cements its position as host to a series of major cycling races.

The Velothon is different to the majority of cycling events because of the sheer number of people taking part.

Up to 15,000 recreational and fund-raising cyclists will be taking part, setting off at 7am and 9.15am on closed roads along either a 140km or 50km route depending on their abilities.

After the amateurs take to the road in the morning, the professionals will be racing a 194km route from 12.30pm with some of the world’s top cycling teams taking part.

It is a huge event and it provides significant opportunities for Wales to be seen as a must-ride destination for cyclists from around the world.

The Velothon cycling series has already staged a successful event in Berlin this year. Stockholm and Vienna host the Velothon later this year.

It should not be dismissed as something that will only interest a minority of people. If the weather is good, as many as 100,000 people are expected to line the route.

So why has an event that should bring with it nothing but positives attracted such a negative reaction in some quarters?

The simple answer is communication.

I have spoken this week with two council chief executives (they were off-the-record conversations so I won’t name them) both of whom are deeply unhappy with a lack of information and guidance from the event organisers.

David Davies, the MP for Monmouth, says the organisers are telling the public they have had meetings with MPs in all areas along the Velothon route. He says that simply is not true.

Even the first minister said this week that organisers should have communicated with local people earlier.

Many businesses and residents have told us they have received little or no information about road closures.

The Velothon’s own website says full details on the impact of the event on businesses and residents were not available until just a month before the event.

And while there is detailed information on the site for those taking part in the Velothon, much of the information aimed at local businesses and residents is vague.

For instance, in a ‘frequently asked questions’ section for people and businesses along the routes there are answers like this:

“Depending on the route, there will be different timings for the road closures.”

“Full road closure timings will be announced roughly a month before the event.”

The organisers will say, quite rightly, that they have produced interactive maps showing all Sunday’s road closures well in advance of the Velothon. We have published the maps on our website.

But not everyone has access to a computer, and this impacts particularly on older residents.

There are reasons given for the long road closures – barrier removals, crowd dispersal, surface cleaning – and I don’t doubt any of them.

But this area has staged major cycling events before with far less disruption thanks to rolling road closures and the like.

And there certainly hasn’t been enough thought given to the potential negative impact on some businesses along the rote and possible support that could be offered to those who suffer a genuine loss in trade.

Sunday’s event should be a success. It should pave the way to Wales becoming a regular host to the Velothon.

But the organisers have a sizeable public relations job on their hands if the event is to be repeated next year.