Tour de Yorkshire: Reactions to 2019 Course

Max Stedman, Cherie Pridham, John Herety, Scott Thwaites, Russell Downing, Chris Lawless , Tim Elverson and Sophie Thackray give their reactions to the launch of the Tour de Yorkshire 2019

Tour de Yorkshire: Reactions to 2019 Course

The course for the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire

John Herety (legend, former British champion and team owner): First Stage should be a sprint, I don’t think the World Tour Teams will make the same mistake as last year. Stage 2 and 3 will be very interesting, two short stages of 132km will make for really aggressive racing and has the potential for some unconventional tactics and therefore less predictable racing, exactly what the hard core spectators want.”

“The last stage, the one they are going to call the Yorkshire Classic is very similar to last year, so as we know that will make it very difficult to control due the constant change in gradients. It was obvious they were going to include the Worlds circuit within the route and that will increase the chances of seeing some of the Worlds best riders the race has ever seen as it will be the only time they will be able to race the circuit before the Worlds the correct way due to one way systems although there’ll be training days during Worlds week to ride it.”

“Overall, they have grown the race yet again I believe and it has the potential to be the best yet. The women doing the exact same course and therefore distance as the men, including that Worlds circuit means they have really committed to raising the bar for Women’s Cycling. That in particular went down well with everyone who attended”.

Cherie Pridham: Boss at Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK says of the race “Once again the TdY delivers a true classic for Yorkshire. It will be epic and one of the best yet. This race gets tougher and more special with each addition. The race will also add to the momentum building for the Road Worlds in Yorkshire as well and the crowds will be an example of what the UK has become famous for, some of the biggest crowds in the world supporting the racing.”

Max Stedman: The climber in the Canyon DHB team had this to say about the course: “The Tour de Yorkshire 2019 looks set to be another cracker of a route, and a race of two halves. The first two days look pretty sprinter friendly. It is a shame there’s no hill top finish as it did spice GC up a little before the final big stage”.

“Saying that, the shorter stages could be fun to race and watch. One of the harder days of the Tour of Britain this year was the Bristol stage as it was just fully lit for the whole stage. So I think that stage 3 of TDY could be eyeballs out for a few hours, hilly, and a lot of time spent on the open North Yorkshire Moors.”

“Then, Stage 4 is almost a carbon copy of last year, easily up there as the hardest/ most enjoyable days on a bike so far in my career, so I’m excited to potentially have another crack at it. It’s an amazing race with some ridiculous crowds, expect four aggressive days of racing.”

Tim Elverson (Canyon DHB boss) says of the course “it’s good and I’m happy enough with it. It gives me plenty to think about and the short stages may mean the hammer will stay down all stage.”
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Sophie Thackray: Hopefully I’ll be racing it and I’m looking forward to it already. It is definitely a step up for me and I am half dreading it but also looking forward to it because the routes are really tough and it’s going to be brilliant racing.”

On the routes being the same as the men’s Sophie said “it means a lot that people are taking into account how important women’s cycling is and I think it will attract a lot more big name riders especially with the world championship course being included. It’s putting Yorkshire on the map even more than it was and it’s a great opportunity for everyone.”

Scott Thwaites: Leeds based rider “I think to show case the worlds road race circuit on one of the stages is a great idea, I think it will attract a lot of riders wanting to target that event (the Worlds)”.

“It will be good for them to use that circuit on closed roads, using both sides of the road and go the wrong way up a one way system; it will certainly give riders a lot of information for the event later on in September.”

“I have raced all round the world in some beautiful places but there is something about this area, and the people here that keeps bringing me back.”

Russell Downing: Yorkshire legend says of the 2019 race, “every year it gets better, it’s great for the women this year racing close to the weekend so they get some great coverage. And with the world championships in 2019 coming to Yorkshire, for the riders able to see the circuit is going to make the Tour de Yorkshire even more special and there will be a lot of big name riders fighting to get in their squads and that is going to make for one hell of a race.”

Chis Lawless: “every year I have managed to start the Tour of Yorkshire, last year I didn’t manage to finish as I crashed on stage 2 but every year I have done it, I have loved it and I think its nice to have been part of it from the first edition.”