Leanne Wood Member of the Senedd for the Rhondda

Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales

Leanne Wood AC/AM

Arweinydd Plaid Cymru / Leader of Plaid Cymru

Aelod Cynulliad dros y Rhondda / Assembly Member for the Rhondda

Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe

Team Sky

National Cycling Centre

Stuart Street

Manchester

M11 4DQ

Ref: LW/gll/160701/TourdeFrance

1st July 2016

Dear Geraint and Luke,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best of luck for this year’s Tour de France. While much of the sporting focus in Wales is on our national football team ahead of the quarter final match in the European Championship, your prowess at the highest level of the sport more than deserves to be acknowledged and commended.

You are about to compete in one of the most gruelling events in the sporting calendar; an event watched by tens of millions of people across the world. By competing in the tour - and riding for such a high-profile team while doing so - you are helping to ensure Welsh cycling and Wales itself features prominently on a global stage.

While you both ensure that people around the world know about the strength of Welsh cycling, the impact you are having on encouraging grassroots cycling is tremendous. Where I live in the Rhondda the explosion in the interest in cycling in recent years is evidence of your influence. This is no better epitomised by local cycling related businesses and clubs, like for example the Bike Doctor cycling club based in Porth which is fostering interest in the sport at all ages and abilities. This growth can, in no small part, be put down to positive role models like you to aspire to.

Once again, good luck for the duration of the tour. We will all be following your progress over the next 21 days.

Yours sincerely,

Leanne Wood AM for the Rhondda and Plaid Cymru Leader