OLYMPIC hero Bradley Wiggins will be back in Gwent next Saturday just under a fortnight after picking up three medals in the Athens Games.
And it will be the start of the rest of his life as the Londoner builds a career on the roads after gaining his ultimate achievement in the Olympic Velodrome.
Wiggins will be part of the Credit Agricole team that takes part in the Tour of Britain next week, with the penultimate stage, which should decide the winner, being held on the roads of Gwent.
The fleeting one-day visit to the region will also mark a return for the triple Olympic medalist after he and the rest of the British squad that have shone in Athens put the finishing touches to their incredible Games at the Wales National Velodrome in Newport.
Wiggins, who won gold in a magnificent race against Australian Brad McGee in the 4000 metres Individual Pursuit, will be finding his feet on the roads again around Gwent and it may even be the start of an attempt at next year's Tour de France.
He said yesterday: "It's something I have not given much thought to recently. For the last two years, I have been looking for Olympic gold and it's happened now.
"I am a bit confused on what I do next. I haven't got any future plans in cycling at the moment but there are paths to take like the Tour de France. "There is Beijing (the next Olympics) in four years and I have to ask myself do I come back and do that?"
But there is no doubt that Wiggins will be one of the big attractions when the star-studded Tour of Britain reaches Gwent.
Also in the five-day race will be fellow British Olympic track squad member Paul Manning plus Continental stars such as Axel Merckx, son of the legendary Tour de France champion, Eddy Merckx, and who won the bronze medal in the Olympic Road Race in Athens.
And Abergavenny's Julian Winn will lead the Welsh assault on the Tour crown with Gwent riders Anthony Malarczyk, of Cwmcarn, and Monmouth-born Stephen Roach two of the five riders supporting Winn. A total of 95 riders will be in the field including Jose Azevedo, who helped Lance Armstrong to his seventh Tour de France victory this summer and was fifth overall in the famous event, riding for the US Postal team.
Riders assemble for the Newport and South East Wales stage at the Wales National Velodrome at Newport International Sports Village, Spytty Park, at 10am before riding into the city centre for the official start.
They then head through the Eastern and Western Valleys of Gwent before returning to Newport and completing circuits around Caerleon before the finish at the Celtic Manor at around 3pm.
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