Tour de Yorkshire
route revealed
The 2019 Tour de Yorkshire will include the same loop as the Yorkshire World Championships in an effort to attract top names.
The finishing loop comes in the middle of stage two before the tour moves on to finish that day in Bedale.
The men’s race takes place on May 2-5, with the women’s two-day version covering the first two stages.
Over the four days the towns of Halifax, Barnsley, Doncaster, Selby, Scarborough and Bridlington will also host stage starts and finishes, with the city of Leeds hosting the grand finale of a testing stage on May 5.
Chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, Sir Gary Verity, said they had designed the route to offer a diversity of terrain to the riders.
“There’s something for everyone. The sprinters will get their chance to shine while the Classics specialists and climbers will also have opportunities to make their mark.
The reception was largely positive. Team Sky’s Chris Lawless said: “It’s one of the best races in the calendar... and that’s coming from a Lancastrian.”
Reigning national champion Connor Swift (Madison-genesis) said: “I think the route is fantastic. There are a couple of stages in there that are quite short. We saw something similar at the Tour of Britain and it makes great racing, full gas from the start.”
Full details of the route can be found at www.cyclingweekly.com.