Expanded Tour set to welcome a cycling superstar
Former World champion and Olympian Mark Cavendish poised to compete in 2018 race
IT HAS become a highlight on Yorkshire’s sporting calendar since it was first staged two years ago as a legacy to the Tour de France’s Grand Départ.
And now an extra day and the inclusion of a global superstar of cycling will make the Tour de Yorkshire’s 2018 edition the best so far, organisers said yesterday.
The race, launched in 2015 to build on the success of the previous year’s Tour de France Grand Départ in the region, will be expanded next May to four days for the men, with the women’s event doubled to two.
And Mark Cavendish, a former world champion, Olympian and winner of 30 stages of the Tour de France, has raised the race’s growing profile even further by indicating he will take part for the first time.
The 2018 route was unveiled at a lavish ceremony at Halifax’s Piece Hall yesterday, when cyclists including Cavendish rubbed shoulders with club riders from across the county and children attending schools in the eight start or finish towns.
Sir Gary Verity, the chief executive of the race organiser and tourism body Welcome to Yorkshire, believes a spectacular Tour will set the scene for the following year when the county stages road cycling’s world championships.
Stage one of the 2018 event takes the riders 113 miles from Beverley to Doncaster on May 3. The following day, the riders will cover 92 miles, beginning in Barnsley and ending with a summit finish on Ilkley’s Cow and Calf.
Stage three traverses 114 miles from Richmond to the seafront at Scarborough before the race concludes with an 118-mile ride from Halifax to Leeds on May 6. The women will race over the final 82 miles of day one’s route and the last 75 miles of the men’s second stage.
Welcome to Yorkshire has been pressing for a fourth day after the race was run over three stages in 2015 to 2017. Sir Gary is confident the course will test riders to the limit, as well as draw in huge crowds and provide a multi-million-pound boost to the region’s economy.
“The four days for the men enables us to go to all four parts of Yorkshire and gives the race more balance, so we can have two flat stages and two hilly stages,” he said. “By having two sprint stages we can attract the best sprinters in the world, like Mark Cavendish.
“We have got four very different stages, technically challenging in different ways, but when you stitch them all together I think you’ve got the most perfect stage race.”
Sir Gary added: “We are delighted to be doubling the women’s race and having a summit finish, which is the first time for a women’s stage race. We are delighted to be doing our bit to push women’s cycling.
“There’s an awful lot of things that are very, very tough about the race. The riders who come to Yorkshire will know they have had a proper race.”
The impending world championships will add extra spice to the 2018 event. Sir Gary said: “We are looking forward to 2019 and building up towards that. We are trying new routes out and looking at bits of road for that so for many of the riders it will be a dress rehearsal.”
This year’s race attracted 2.2m spectators and generated £64m for the economy. Sir Gary predicted the fourth day will ensure that will be exceeded.
Also at yesterday’s launch was Christian Prudhomme, director of cycling at co-organiser Amaury Sport Organisation, which owns the Tour de France. He added: “There is so much passion for the race and for cycling in Yorkshire.”
By having two sprint stages we can attract the best sprinters in the world. Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.
LOCAL HERO Scott Thwaites has pledged to “go down fighting” when the Tour de Yorkshire visits his home roads next May.
Stage two of the four-day event finishes on the Cow and Calf in Ilkley, which guarantees Thwaites will have the support of what is expected to be a massive crowd.
“It’s pretty much my home town,” said the 27-year-old, who is from nearby Burley-in-Wharfedale and attended Leeds Metropolitan University.
“I know a lot of the routes, even the last stage run into Leeds is very close to where I live.
“The crowds in that area will be really big and winning on the Cow and Calf would be a dream.”
Thwaites will be under pressure to perform on what is set to be an eye-catching and stage over 149km from Barnsley, but admits he is unlikely to be in peak form at that time of the season.
Yorkshire crowds celebrated a home success seven months ago when Lizzie Deignan stormed to victory in the women’s race, which finished in Harrogate, but no local rider has ever won a stage in the three years of the men’s event.
“Everyone’s already talking about it,” Thwaites said of his prospects of glory in Ilkley.
“When Lizzie won last year it was amazing, being the local girl.
“It would be nice; I think that is the one thing Yorkshire is still missing, a local person in the men’s race winning something.
“I will give it my best shot, but at that time of year it is difficult for me, coming out of the classics and having a break.
“I am never quite in my best form.
“I think if it came at the right time of the year and I was in good shape anything would be possible, but – having said that – I will do my best and if anything, I will go down fighting.”
Thwaites is likely to be joined on the startline in Beverley on May 3 by Dimension Data teammate Mark Cavendish, a former world champion and 30-time stage winner in the Tour de France.
Both Britons will fancy their chances, with two sprint stages – from Beverley to Doncaster on day one and Richmond to Scarborough 48 hours later – designed to suit Cavendish.
“It’s another brilliant route,” said Thwaites who finished 53rd on last year’s general classification, having helped teammates Serge Pauwels and Omar Fraile Matarranz to first and second place.
“With the extra day it’s another challenge and the first summit finish on the Cow and Calf is going to be pretty spectacular.
“As always it has got a couple of sprint stages and a couple of hilly stages, so it’s a nice route.
“Last year we showed how strong the team was and how well we work together.
“It was a fantastic achievement to go one and two on such a gruelling final stage and to take the overall and the team classification. It was a nice clean sweep for us so the pressure will be on for next year to try and repeat that.
“I am pretty sure it will be difficult to do that again, but if we can come away with a stage or a few stages and maybe have a crack at the overall again, that would be good.”
Dimension Data are a key sponsor of the Tour de Yorkshire, which will give the team extra motivation.
“It is massive for us to come out and perform here,” Thwaites added.
“We have got a massive fanbase in the UK so we need to do a good ride for them and keep them supporting us and the Qhubeka charity.
“It is a brilliant race and with there being four Brits on the team it is a great opportunity to put a ride in for the fans.”
This year has been a big one for Thwaites, who made his debut for Dimension Data following a move from NetApp–Endura and finished 107th in his first Tour de France which was won by fellow Briton Chris Froome.
“I’ve really enjoyed this year,” he reflected.
“It has been a new team for me and new challenges, riding the Tour de France for the first time and everything like that.
“It was a year of firsts, but I really enjoyed it.
“I think I had a good programme and I rode well.
“I think I’ve really found my feet in this team and I enjoyed the atmosphere.
“That gives me confidence and motivation for next year.
“I really like this team. It’s a good, friendly team, there’s a few more Brits and the support is really good. We’ve got great sponsors and it is good working with the Qhubeka charity.
”I am really looking forward to staying with them next year.”