ABERGAVENNY Festival of Cycling organiser Bill Owen has been honoured by Welsh Cycling with a lifetime achievement award.

And there were a number of other winners from the town at the glittering event held at the Village Hotel, Cardiff, on Friday.

Owen, who was also named as the individual race organiser of the year, has been in cycling for 50 years.

He was at the forefront of the ambition to get a National Cycling Velodrome for Wales built which eventually came to fruition ten years ago with the world class facility - one of only two in the UK at the time - opening in Newport.

He brought the National Road Race Championships to Abergavenny in 1996 when David Rand won the title and since then, Gwent has hosted the Elite Men's Road Championships five more times.

And, in 2009 for the first time in British Cycling history, Owen surpassed himself by staging all three major road Championships in the UK - the juniors, women's and men's - on one weekend over two days.

Now the Abergavenny Festival of Cycling, with enormous help from Monmouthshire County Council, will stage the 2014 Elite Men's and Women's Road Race Championships along with the National Time Trial Championships and the Para Grand Prix of Wales as Monmouthshire continues its' aim to become the cycling capital of Wales.

After receiving his Lifetime Achievement award, a delighted Owen said: "I'm lost for words but it has given me more incentive and drive to carry on. It is always nice to be appreciated and, when you are, you put that extra effort in you to do more.

"I always remember (Chris) Boardman saying that sport is 95 per cent disappointment and I have had my fair share of disappointments quite a few times but on occasions like this, it make it all worthwhile."

It was also a great evening for Abergavenny Road Club as they were named club of the year while Stephen Lane became coach of the year.

And also the brilliant Becky James, who was a double World Championships gold medallist this year, won the outstanding performance of the year award.

James was also nominated in the elite cyclist of the year category, which was won by Tour de France star Geriant Thomas.