Winner: Gary Verity

THIS year’s Lifetime Achievement Award went to the man responsible for York being adorned with yellow bicycles and bunting this summer - the man who brought the Tour de France to Yorkshire.

Receiving one of the night’s most prestigious awards, Gary Verity took to the stage accompanied by a standing ovation from the 400 guests at the Press Business Awards.

As chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, Gary fought off competition from Edinburgh, Florence, and a handful of other European nations, not to mention French towns, to persuade race directors that Yorkshire was sexy enough to host the start of the world’s third largest global event.

Putting York and Yorkshire on the global map, Gary helped to attract an estimated £150 million to the region, including more than £31 million in advertising spend over the opening weekend, which saw the Grand Depart set off from York on day two As a result Gary could now be a household name after it was revealed Welcome to Yorkshire has held talks with a team of scriptwriters to who want to give the story of Yorkshire’s Tour the Hollywood treatment.

Receiving his award, Gary said: “This is a very special city, you know it when you walk round, it’s in the atmosphere. There’s something very special and we should cherish it.

“The Tour de France was a huge triumph for this city and the county. I have never seen anything unite Yorkshire like the Tour de France.

“The value of the true champions of cycling are the same as the values you have witnessed tonight among award winners; hard work, passion, dynamism, and the wilful refusal to take no for an answer. Never stop, and never give up.”

Gary was also praised for his fundraising efforts, having raised a record breaking £118,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research through sponsorship for completing the New York Marathon, before raising nearly £70,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care by taking part in the London Marathon, later being appointed as Patron for Yorkshire for Marie Curie.