No Tour de Yorkshire next year as race is pushed back until 2022
The Tour de Yorkshire will again not be staged next year with organisers announcing the sixth edition of the race will instead take place in 2022.
The men’s and women’s races had originally been scheduled between April 30 and May 3 this year, but were postponed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event has now been pushed back again amid ongoing concerns over its longterm future.
I n a j o i n t s t at e m e n t , tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury
Sports Organisation said the “difficult decision has been made after in-depth constructive discussions” involving local authorities due to host stages.
Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief executive James Mason said: “During these uncertain times Welcome to Yorkshire needs to focus on the immediate needs of the industry without committing both financial and human resources towards any activity or event that we cannot be certain of…
“Whilst it is very disappointing that we will be bereft of this wonderful race for another year, the decision we have made is the right one and perhaps the only one we could make.
“The uncertainty in front of us meant it was impossible to plan or commit the resource that the race needs.”
The Tour was developed as a legacy event of Yorkshire hosting the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in 2014, and quickly became one of the best-attended races in world cycling.
But the existing contract only covers one more edition, now twice postponed.