News – Tour de Yorkshire Start & Finishes

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The start and finish lines have been announced for the first ever Tour de Yorkshire international cycle race announced

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News – Tour de Yorkshire Start & Finishes

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The start and finish lines have been announced for the first ever Tour de Yorkshire international cycle race. Bridlington, Leeds, Scarborough, Selby, Wakefield and York will all host a prestigious start or finish of the new UCI-approved 2.1 race. It is expected that Scarborough will be the start of stage two and best guesses are that Bridlington will be the finish of stage one. With Bob Howden, BC president involved in the launch, roads used by the Ryedale GP may also feature.

Yorkshire_STart&Finishes

The race, which will be held on 1-3 May, is expected to become a flagship cycling event in the UK in 2015 and an outstanding cycle race in the international calendar, including the participation of top international teams and cycling stars. It will be broadcast live on national TV and throughout Europe.

The full route details will be revealed on January 21st, on the 100 days to go to the race. The Tour de Yorkshire is a new race being held by Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) and Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY), supported by British Cycling.

Director of the Tour de France at A.S.O., Christian Prudhomme, said: “I am delighted we are returning to Yorkshire where we saw the grandest ever Grand Départ for the Tour de France. It is clear the people of Yorkshire are passionate about cycling and we can’t wait to bring them this new race.”

More than 3 million people turned out to see the Tour de France in Yorkshire and the economic impact has been put at well over £100million. Organisers say the new race will build on the hugely successful Grand Départ and is at the heart of Cycle Yorkshire, the legacy of the Tour de France.

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This is another huge milestone for Yorkshire as we position the county as the cycling heartland of Europe. This is the first ever Tour de Yorkshire, I am confident it will become a huge annual event and something that will raise Yorkshire’s profile year on year.”

Much of the new race will be in parts of the county the Tour de France didn’t touch but the announcement from the organisers shows that the race, with Bridlington and Scarborough being key points on the route, will include some of Yorkshire’s finest coastal roads.

l-r Bob Howden President British Cycling & Gary Verity Chief Executive WTY

L-R Ryedale GP organiser Bob Howden & Gary Verity, Chief Executive Welcome to Yorkshire

Gary Verity explained “We wanted to make sure we took the race to parts of Yorkshire that missed out on the Tour de France and I am pleased to say that this first edition will heavily feature the Yorkshire coast.”

Verity admitted that some parts of the region would be frustrated to be absent when the complete route is unveiled but pointed out that with an annual commitment to staging the race, nobody would be unhappy for long. “The reality is we’re never going to satisfy everyone with every edition. There are 10,000km of roads in Yorkshire and our race will do less than 600km every year,” he said. “In five years’ time I think everyone who wants to be covered will have been.

Councillor Stephen Parnaby OBE, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “The East Riding is an area with a great passion for cycling, a passion that can be summed up by the on-going success of the East Yorkshire Classic Cycling Weekend, which sees some of the country’s top cyclists ride through Beverley, and the mass participation of the recent Sky Ride Local scheme. Hosting a major sporting event will have untold benefits for the whole county in terms of tourism and boosting the local economy and the council will make every effort to capitalise on this.”

The race will have three stages over the Bank Holiday weekend in May running from Friday through to Sunday.

A mass sportive with several distances where people can ride the same route as the Pros will be held on day three (3 May) and thousands are expected to take part in what will be a historic first for the county. The mass ride will be delivered by Human Race – owners of the Dragon Ride and many other sportives – in collaboration with the Tour de Yorkshire organisers. Starting today, people can apply to enter the sportive on the Tour de Yorkshire website in order to enjoy a privileged entry fee www.letouryorkshire.com

Bernard Hinault, five times Tour de France winner, said: “The Tour de France has had a sportive alongside it for many years and it’s a unique experience for amateur riders to ride at L’Etape; so to have this similar experience available at the Tour de Yorkshire will be magnifique and something all keen riders will want to be part of.”

The Tour de Yorkshire will be an annual event with 2015 being the inaugural race.

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