Monmouth MP David Davies has launched a stinging attack on the organisers of the Velothon cycle race, brandishing their communications strategy “a disgrace”.
About 15,000 professional and amateur cyclists will come to south Wales as Cardiff hosts Sunday’s event.
The 140km (87m) race will also force main roads in Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen and Monmouthshire to shut between 7:30am and 5:00pm.
Mr Davies said the closures will cause chaos as competitors cycle through Monmouthshire, imprisoning residents in their homes and costing businesses thousands of pounds in lost trade.
When speaking with Lagardere, the company organising Velothon Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government, he claims he was given “a load of factually incorrect information”.
“I rang up the Velothon help desk to query arrangements for the event and they were very heavy-handed,” said Mr Davies.
“I was told the route and associated road closures shouldn’t have been a surprise as MPs had been told about it in April.
“This simply isn’t true. I pointed out that I was an MP and there were no MPs in April as Parliament had been dissolved and we were in the middle of a General Election campaign.
“Indeed, many people had been unaware of the implications of the event until recently when a leaflet was pushed through letter boxes.”
After being transferred to senior management, Mr Davies was then told public meetings had been held in Monmouthshire for local businesses.
“I asked them where and when and they couldn’t tell me, eventually replying that it was a “consultation paper” not a public meeting,” he added.
“I have heard the organisers are getting a huge sum of money for arranging the Velothon but they can’t even get their facts right. Their communications strategy has been shockingly poor and is nothing short of a disgrace.”