THE chief executive at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society will be taking on Le Tour de Maldwyn on Saturday.

Steve Hughson will be undertaking a gruelling 82-mile bike ride around Montgomeryshire to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK and the Montgomeryshire Royal Welsh Feature County Fund.

Starting in Machynlleth, Steve will be joined by members of the 2018 Montgomeryshire Feature County Fund to cycle through Trefeglwys, Newtown, Fordon, Welshpool, Llansantffraid, Llanfyllin before heading back towards Llanerfyl - the home village of this year’s society president, Tom Tudor.

With the aim of completing the tough ride in under 10 hours, the brave cyclists will have to endure over 6,560ft of climbing throughout the route, the vast majority of which will be in the first 20 miles.

By the time they reach the finish line, Steve and the rest of the Montgomeryshire cycling team will be rewarded with a well-deserved barbecue by the Tudor family.

“The huge efforts that feature counties make each year is astounding! We are always in awe at how these committees give up their time to work tirelessly to raise funds for the society and other worthwhile charities. Without their help we would not be able to make the improvements to the showground – this year Montgomeryshire are raising money to put towards facilities on site for our young members,” said Steve.

“By taking on this yearly challenge I am able to say a personal thank you for the fundraising efforts of the feature county along with raising my own sponsorship to contribute to their total.”