THE FASTEST man on two wheels has thrown his weight behind Yorkshire’s bid to bring the Tour de France cycle race to the area.
Mark Cavendish has backed the county’s bid to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2016.
Mark, who has won 20 Tour de France stages including this year’s green jersey for being the Tour’s best sprinter, said: “My mum is from Yorkshire so I’m proud to be backing the Yorkshire 2016 bid.
“The county would provide a stunning backdrop to the Tour as well as a real test for the competitors, I have fond memories of holidaying in Yorkshire, a lot of my family still live there and it would be fantastic if the world’s greatest cycle race could come to Yorkshire, I’m sure it would host a stunning Grand Départ.”
The county’s tourism agency, Welcome to Yorkshire, revealed it had held discussions in May with Tour de France officials about the possibility of the race coming to the region.
The route proposed would see Leeds city centre as the starting destination for the 22 teams, who would then weave their way to the Yorkshire Dales via Harrogate, the home of Mark’s relatives.
The course would then take the competitors through York and the North York Moors then on to Scarborough.
Riders would then go to Hull and finally to Sheffield.
The racing would be spread over two days covering 180kms a day with Leeds hosting a festival of music and entertainment in the city centre to welcome the teams and the Tour’s entourage.
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the county’s tourism agency, said: “To have Mark’s backing for our bid is massive.
“We are serious about bringing Le Grand Départ to Yorkshire and giving the French a warm Yorkshire welcome.
“The county is passionate about sport and would be thrilled to host the most celebrated cycle race in the world.”
It’s a grand start
IT turns out that Mark Cavendish, Britain's only winner of the coveted Tour de France green jersey, has North Yorkshire roots.
His mum was born in Harrogate, and that is one of the reasons he is backing the county’s bid to hold the Tour’s Grand Départ here in 2016.
Mark, who has won 20 Tour de France stages as well as this year’s green jersey for being the event’s best sprinter, says Yorkshire would provide a stunning backdrop to the spectacle.
We couldn’t agree more.
And talking of stunning backdrops, the bidders need to realise that the obvious place for a Grand Départ in this county is York Minster.
How could it be anywhere else?
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