SPENDING at two major cycling events held in Monmouthshire last year topped £2.5 million, estimates discussed at a county council meeting show.

The authority took figures from two studies used to measure the impact of the National Road Cycling Championships (NRCC), held from June 26 to June 29 2014, and Stage 3 of The Friends Life Tour of Britain (ToB) on September 9, 2014.

The total, taken from studies by consultants Arkenford on the NRCC and Frontline on the ToB, is a slight decrease from the £3 million British Cycling said in January they thought had been spent in Monmouthshire.

The council’s food and tourism strategic manager Nicola Edwards said the statistics were “based on a lot of assumptions and estimates” but that other parts could be taken for granted about the events.

She said: “They were a major influence on attracting visitors to the area. There’s no doubt about that; that’s not in question.

“We’ve learned some lessons in undertaking and trying to compare the results so we can assess the results in the future.”

Cllr John Prosser, who represents the Priory ward in Abergavenny, said the events were “good to watch [and] good for the community” but that the council should seek to take greater advantage of the events in the future if possible.

He said at other major sporting events outside the county he had seen sporting villages and was keen to see them introduced to boost local businesses.

The ToB is the UK’s biggest professional cycle race and was part of one of eight stages. Riders climbed the Tumble, starting from Govilon, near Abergavenny and ended at the summit of the Blorenge. The race was broadcast live on Eurosport.

Chepstow councillor David Dovey said he was also keen to promote the county as much as possible if similar events are staged in Monmouthshire again.

He told a special meeting of the economy and development select committee: “I’ve been in Europe and seen these events in passing. What it seems to me they do...they pick the locations which are exciting and they use advertising in these locations.

“That can’t be beyond the wit of us unless there’s something that precludes us from doing it.”