Shane Williams might have been simply returning to his roots – but a host of our local athletes opted to follow him to the valleys for the Tour De Shane ‘Amman Adventure’ event last month.

Following the success of the Pembrokeshire leg last April – the Welsh rugby legend teamed up with Man-Up UK to raise funds for charitable causes in an event that incorporated 50 and 80 mile rides.

More than 250 cyclists set off from the Amman United RFC grounds early in the morning, with their courses combining roads, mountain passes and market towns both in and around the valleys.

There was a good representation from clubs within Pembrokeshire as well, most notably from the Milford Tritons and Narberth Dynamos, with many riders praising the stunning scenery and yet challenging nature of the routes.

A number of Man-Up UK members also travelled to volunteer their help, whilst Williams’ family also offered their support, with his brother Dean and brother-in-law Gavin actually joining him for the ride whilst mum Christine and sister Hayley helped behind the scenes.

Some rode against the clock, others purely for enjoyment – and in the 80 mile sportive the quickest participant home was the experienced Andy Jackson in an impressive three hours, 57 minutes, and 19 seconds (3:57:19).

Burry Port’s David Brice clocked 4:40:40, but Pembrokeshire was superbly represented by youngsters Jack Ackermann and Isaac Hathaway, who were both third fastest as they crossed the line neck and neck in 4:47:25.

In the 50-mile event, Glanamman’s Ben Jones was first to return to refreshments at the rugby club in 2.55.50, followed by Solva’s Carl Platel in 3:08:36.

Williams James was third in 3.10.13, closely followed by another of our local riders, Ifan Thomas, with 3.10.25.

But the day was about considerably more than timings, and formed also part of ongoing community fundraising for Shaun Davies and family, a former teammate of Williams at Amman United - who was battling cancer and has sadly died since the event.

Furthermore, a sizeable amount was raised for the Velindre Centre, a charity of which Wales’ record try scorer is a patron.

Fintan Godkin, of Man-Up Uk, hailed the success of the day, and said plans were already in place for more Pembrokeshire and Amman based Tour De Shane rides in 2018.

“For Man-up UK it was a pleasure to be asked by Shane to put on the event in his own back yard, and we look forward on working with him in the future to improve and grow the Tour De Shane sportive,” he told Telegraph Sport.

“A massive thank you to everyone who bought into the idea, turned up and participated.

“For a first Amman Adventure we were delighted with the numbers, and it was nice to see some of our regulars from Pembrokeshire make the trip.

“But as always it's the volunteers and people behind the scenes that make things happen. And we are hugely grateful to everyone who helped and was vital with getting the adventure off the ground.”

Williams himself, added he was ‘delighted’ with how the day turned out.

For more information on 2018 Tour De Shane events, visit www.man-upuk.com.