TOUR IN FRESH TERRITORIES
‘Gateway to the Dales’ is added to county’s big cycle race
FROM NEW territories like Bedale to established hosts like Doncaster, the theme of the Tour de Yorkshire locations announcement yesterday was one of ‘social inclusion’.
The fifth annual staging of the region’s cycle race was launched in Leeds with a cast list of new frontiers and old favourites, plus news of an elevation in categorisation that underlines the growing status of the race on the global cycling calendar.
Bedale is a new destination as a start or finish town for the 2019 edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, which will run from Thursday, May 2, to Sunday, May 5.
The race will also return to some familiar haunts next year, with Doncaster chosen for a third time and Scarborough again featuring on the list, with previous finishes on the seafront producing some of the race’s more endearing images down the years.
Other hubs for starts and finishes will be Barnsley, Bridlington, Halifax, Leeds and Selby.
But as the race approaches its half-decade of existence, organisers and local authorities were keen to stress that the event is so much more than just a bike race.
“It’s the spirit it generates in the communities it passes through that is absolutely fantastic,” said Justin Ives, chief executive of Hambleton District Council which last year hosted the race but will next year be a major player as Bedale welcomes either a start or a finish.
“It generates a massive amount of interest, a massive amount of economic benefit for the town, and it also generates tourist activity. Bedale is always thought of as the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales.”
While Bedale is tapping into the benefits for the first time, Doncaster is establishing itself as a major destination for the Tour de Yorkshire.
The South Yorkshire town has previously hosted two finishes on the race and also next September will host the start of two races on one day at the UCI Road World Championships.
Andy Maddox, of Doncaster Council, said: “We’re trying to change the perspective of Doncaster by putting physical activity through sport, front and centre.
“There’s a sporting, health and social connection that these large-scale events bring. It’s about fostering those relationships in our community.
“We’re trying to cement ourselves as a cycling town. Doncaster is flat, we also have a high percentage of cyclists recreationally, and what we’re trying to do now is turn that into a form of transport for people, so we’re investing significantly into cycling.
“For instance, we’re working with British Cycling to secure funding to develop a closed-road circuit which will aid clubs and communities, giving people a safe environment to cycle in.
“The Tour de Yorkshire is a big ticket for Doncaster and it’s about generating that economic and social benefit.”
Race organiser Sir Gary Verity of Welcome to Yorkshire added: “The Tour de Yorkshire is much more than a cycling event, the way the communities get involved, the way the schools get involved, you can learn the history and geography of Yorkshire when you look at the routes.
“It’s something for businesses around the route to make the most of and it showcases the food and drink offer that communities have. It is remarkable that this has become transformational for the economy of Yorkshire but also in bringing communities together.
“It gives people a vehicle to express their Yorkshire pride.”
The Tour de Yorkshire is much more than a cycling event. Race organiser Sir Gary Verity.
YORKSHIRE IS lobbying to host the Grand Departs of the Vuelta Espana and Tour de France in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
The Yorkshire Post revealed in May that the region’s cycling chiefs have opened negotiations with Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), the organisers of those two grand tours, to bring the races to the White Rose county.
And confirmation of the dates was provided yesterday at the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire location announcement, just hours after UK Sport issued an ambitious agenda to bring all the major sporting events to this country over the next decade and a half.
UK Sport, the government’s elite sport agency, wants to attract the starts of all three of cycling’s grand tours by 2025, stage a Ryder Cup in England and bid again for the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups, as well as the football World Cup. Given Yorkshire’s history in staging the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, the annual Tour de Yorkshire and next year’s world championships, the region has proven equipped to stage major cycling events.
Sir Gary Verity, the chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire who has been negotiating with ASO about the Vuelta and the Tour’s return, confirmed: “We are talking to UK Sport to ensure that we’re working together. The Vuelta and Tour de France are both in our sights and is something we’re working very hard on.
“There’s a logic to those dates (2022 and 2024). Whether those dates end up happening is a decision for other people but I could see the logic in that format.”