What is the Tour de Yorkshire?

What is the Tour de Yorkshire? You’ll probably have seen decorations going up around the county and details all over the internet and social media about the race, but might not know much about it. That’s why we’re going to shed some light on the event here for you.

So, what is the Tour de Yorkshire?

The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race event that takes participants around Yorkshire. It first began in 2015, and has run each year since, attracting cyclists from all over the world to participate in the competition that takes them all over the county.

Last year, the tour attracted 2.2million people to come out and watch the cyclists whizz by, with even more tuning in to watch the event live on TV.

How it is connected to the Tour de France?

The Tour de France has been running since 1903 and emerged out of two rival sports newspapers trying to increase the sales in their publication. Safe to say, over 100 years later, they did a pretty good job of capturing the attention of their audience.

In 2014, the Tour de France announced that the early stages of that year’s race would take place in Yorkshire. The route took the cyclists from Leeds to Harrogate during the first stage, then on to York and Sheffield through the second stage before heading down to London and continuing on in France.

The Tour de France had ventured on to UK soil three times before this, in 1974, 1994, and 2007, but none captured attention in the same way as the 2014 race. Since its popularity, Yorkshire has hosted its own event in connection with the Tour de France.

What are the stages?

Each Tour de Yorkshire is divided into different stages that take place across different days. When it began in 2015, there were just 2 stages that male cyclists competed in, whereas the 2018 race is going to take place over 4 stages, starting 3rd May and running until 6th with both male and female cycle races taking place across the county.

The men’s race

The men’s race this year is taking place over 4 consecutive days and will run as follows:

Stage 1 – 3rd May, Beverley to Doncaster

Stage 2 – 4th May, Barnsley to Ilkley

Stage 3 – 5th May, Richmond to Scarborough

Stage 4 – 6th May, Halifax to Leeds

The women’s race

The women’s race is in two stages this year and will follow a shorter version of the men’s race:

Stage 1 – 3rd May, Beverley to Doncaster

Stage 2 – 4th May, Barnsley to Ilkley

The Maserati Tour de Yorkshire

This year, the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire is also running during the final day of the races. It offers a shorter route for sportive cyclists to get involved with pro-routes, and has a long, medium and short route map that cyclists can follow.

Book you place on the Maserati Tour on 6th May here.

Who organises the race?

The tour is organised by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Welcome to Yorkshire and is supported by the local authorities throughout Yorkshire.

Where can you go for more information?

If you’d like some more information about the event, head to the official Tour de Yorkshire website. On it, you’ll find lots of images, interactive route maps and lots more information about the race.

Check out the Tour de Yorkshire website here, and make sure you follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.