Why there’s no seafront Tour finish next year

For the first time in the race’s six-year history Scarborough will not be a host town for the Tour de Yorkshire, writes Carl Gavaghan (Local Democracy Reporting Service).

Scarborough Council has confirmed it did not put the borough forward as a start or finish location for the 2020 running of the race.

Scarborough’s iconic North Bay has played host to a finish of the race every year since it began in 2015, providing spectacular TV images of a sprint to the end.

Council leader Cllr Steve Siddons (Lab) said the reason was down to Scarborough being chosen as the location for the national Armed Forces Day celebration in June.

He said the council was in discussions with the organiser of the race, Welcome to Yorkshire, about future years and that people in the borough would not miss out on seeing the action altogether.

Cllr Siddons added: “We are delighted to have been selected to host National Armed Forces Day in 2020 in Scarborough.

“It is a huge honour and will be a fantastic event to be enjoyed by all ages across the borough.

“To deliver such an event, which will showcase our borough nationally, our resources and work must be dedicated to delivering a day that does our armed forces proud and which provides an event to be enjoyed by all in our community.

“Planning for this major event had started under the previous administration.

“Because of the timing of the Tour de Yorkshire race, our capacity to host both events is not possible.

“However, the race will come through the borough and will provide an opportunity for supporters to enjoy the excitement of the race at different locations.

“We are already in discussions with Tour De Yorkshire regarding future events.”

The full list of host towns is set to be revealed on Friday November 22.