MORE than 4,500 amateur and professional cyclists converged on Stormont yesterday as Northern Ireland hosted its third annual Gran Fondo race.
There was a record number of entries for the race which began - and finished - at Parliament Buildings.
There were two separate routes, with the first heading towards Strangford Lough, at 58km, and for the more adventurous, a 175km trek through the Mourne Mountains.
Among those taking part was the world renowned Irish cyclist Stephen Roche, three decades on from his 1987 treble triumph of Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Championship titles.
A legacy of the Giro d'Italia, part of which was staged in the north in 2014, the Gran Fondo began the following year.
The numbers taking part have jumped from just under 3,000 in 2015 to a record 4,631 riders this year.
Ronan McLaughlin won the men's category in the 175km race at 05:03:36 hours, while Katharine Smyth won the women's section of the same race with a time of 05:16:13 hours.
In the 58km contest, James Calwell finished top in 01:40:18, while Kate Moffett won the female category with a time of 01:52:10.
Various roads were closed from Sunday morning, as the first cyclists set off at 7am.
Event organiser Darach McQuaid said that the move to Stormont would hopefully "minimise the impact our event road closures have on Belfast in particular".
Organisers estimate that last year's event generated "an economic impact of over £1.5m for the local economy".
