The Prutour has come like a breath of fresh air for club cyclists and cycling fans throughout Great Britain.

With the demise of the Milk Race and the Kellogg's Tour back in 1994, the sport was left without a shop window in this country.The Milk Race, sponsored by the Milk Marketing Board, ran for 35 years, one of the longest sponsorships in sport, and but for the break-up of the board it might still be on the sporting calendar today.

Prudential, Britain's largest insurance group, had shown interest in getting involved with cycle sport several years ago, but it was felt that a suitable gap was needed to avoid the new race being tagged the Milk Race.

Well, the new Prutour has certainly generated the public's interest, if its passage through North Yorkshire yesterday is typical of the reception it gets around the rest of Britain. There were thousands of spectators along the roadsides.

It was great to see Chris Boardman leading his French-based GAN team on home roads, for once, especially wearing the red race leader's'jersey for the first couple of days.

But there is another race going on within the overall event. Spare a though for the home-based professional squads who manage on a scant diet on one and two-day stage races, unlike their continental based contemporaries who travel about Europe from race to race.It was good to see Leeds rider Jon Clay and his Brite Voice team-mate Chris Walker, the former Milk Race winner from Sheffield, matching the continentals across North Yorkshire's hostile terrain.

The two Yorkshiremen, both aged over 30, were in a leading group of eight riders that held an eight-minute lead over the field as they negotiated the ford and steep climbs of Westerdale.

Several years ago it was the late Peter Longbottom, the former Malton international, that local fans cheered up these hill in his many outings in the top races. With no York area rider in the inaugural Prutour, Clay and Walker received the loud cheers of the knowledgeable crowds along the route, with Clay, the silver medalist in the recent British 10-mile TT championship, a title he won in 1997, receiving the most.

Walker gave the massive crowds lining the one-on-three climb of Rosedale Chimney something to cheer about, for at the summit he was actual race leader on the road, with Boardman's group some way behind.

On the run into York some re-grouping took place with all the race favourites in contention. Britain's Boardman, not renowned for his sprinting prowess, told friend and team-mate Stuart O'Grady to go for the stage victory, which would relieve the former world professional pursuit champion of some of the pressure attached to wearing the leader's red jersey.

O'Grady, himself a leading track rider, duly obliged with a ferocious sprint for the finish line on York's Malton Road, but not without a strong challenge from Leeds rider Clay.

Clay took second place for his efforts, and with team-mate Walker sixth it was a good day for the British based Brite Voice squad and it certainly kept the locals happy.

Aussie O'Grady now holds the race leader's red jersey, with a 13-second lead over Boardman who finished in seventh place yesterday

Prutour of Britain

Stage 2, Gateshead to York (105.5 miles):

S O'Grady (Gan) 4 hours 5mins 14secs,

J Clay (Brite),

L Auger (Bigmat Auber 93),

D Baranowski (US Postal Service) all at same time,

N Stephens (Festina) at 6secs,

C Walker (Brite) at 13.

Overall:

O'Grady 9hours 17mins 38secs,

C Boardman (Gan) at 13secs,

Baranowski at 25,

G Hincapie (US Postal Service) at 27,

Stephens at 38,

C Newton (Brite) at 53.

EYES ON THE RISE: Britain's Chris Boardman leads a group of riders up the steep climb of Rosedale Chimney on the North York Moors.

HAPPY ENDING: Celebrations on the podium in York for, from left: King of the Mountains leader Jonathan Vaughters, overall leader Stuart O'Grady, and sprint leader Jens Voight

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.