Which UK town has the fastest cyclists? Region with the speediest riders named

Welsh coastal county takes top spot

Welsh cyclists are the fastest - and climb the most hills - according to Strava's annual survey of riders (Getty)

London may claim to be the cycling capital of the UK, but it is a rural county in Mid Wales that boasts the country’s fastest bike riders.

Northern Ireland’s Ballymena and Coleraine are narrowly beaten to the top spot by Ceredigion, which boasted an average rider speed of 20.8mph.

The coastal county, home to several long distance cycle routes, was crowned the UK's speediest region.

Statistics compiled by Strava, the fitness app that tracks cyclists and runners using GPS, also found that Welsh cyclists racked up the hilliest trip, with riders in Merthyr Tydfil ascending an impressive 685 metres per outing in the Welsh Valleys.

Northern Ireland ranked in the top three for longest average ride with cyclists in Ballymena, Magherafelt and Armagh achieving average ride distances of around 30 miles.

Stirling riders put in the most hours on the road, with an average ride duration of one hour 38 minutes.

The survey also found the most popular day of the year for cycling (amongst Strava users, at least) was Sunday 21 May.

The Strava Year in Sport report, which also mapped runners’ habits, found London was the top city in the world for run commuting.

Amsterdam came in second, with Paris, New York, Sydney and San Francisco making up the top six.

Stirling achieved the top spot for the longest average run, averaging over six miles, while Omagh came out on top as having the fastest runners on average, with a pace of 8:09 min/mile.

County Down in Northern Ireland was top of the pile for the longest moving time per run of one hour 17 minutes.

“The 51 per cent growth in run commutes left London as the global capital of run commuting and demonstrates a willingness to move to a healthier, greener way of getting to work,” said Strava’s Gareth Mills.