PauloBarnesi Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 http://www.cyclingne...ance-2014-start Tour returns to United Kingdom for first time since 2007 The 2014 Tour de France will start in Yorkshire, England, race organizers ASO announced on Friday. It will be the first time that the Tour has started in the United Kingdom since 2007, and its first visit to Yorkshire. Other cities in the running to host the Grand Depart were Edinburgh, Scotland, and Florence, Italy. Yorkshire will host the first two days racing on the 5th and 6th July before the Tour heads south for a third stage in southern England, with a finish in London. Leeds will be the host city of the Grand Depart and will hold a festival of cycling and the arts to coincide with the arrival of the Tour. Full details of the stages will be revealed at a joint news conference in Leeds and Paris on 17 January. Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France Director visited Yorkshire several times and has seen how cycling has grown since the Tour started in London. “Since the resounding success of the Grand Départ in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom. Bradley Wiggins’ historical victory last July and the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned," he said in a statement issued by the Yorkshire organisers. "Yorkshire is a region of outstanding beauty, with breathtaking landscapes whose terrains offer both sprinters and attackers the opportunity to express themselves. We have encountered a phenomenal desire from the Yorkshire team to welcome the Tour de France and have no doubt that passion and support will be particularly evident for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2014.” Yorkshire fought hard to secure the Tour de France Grand Depart, publicizing their bid in Britain and France during this year's race and then outbidding their rivals with a financial offer close to four million pounds. Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the agency behind the county’s bid, said: "Today is a proud day for everyone involved in the bid and the county as a whole. We are honoured that the race organisers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), have selected Yorkshire to be the host location of the 2014 Grand Départ." Yorkshire is one of the traditional centres of cycling in Britain. Eight-time Tour de France stage winner Barry Hoban is from Wakefield, while Malcolm Elliot is from Sheffield. Current Yorkshire-born pro riders include Ben Swift (Team Sky), Russell Downing (NetApp-Endura) and track Olympian Ed Clancy. Leeds hosted the Leeds International Classic one-day race between 1994 and 1996, which was part of the UCI World Cup series. Max Sciandri won the race in 1995 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Is this not nearer The Moon Man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Ahem I am Derbyshire (OK very close to Yorkshire though :-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 Thats why I used the word near! Anyway can we come and stay at your mansion at Chatsworth for the duration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 14, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 14, 2012 Is this not nearer The Moon Man? Damn right it is. But it brings out the curmudgeon in me. I have no objection to a major cycle race in the area. But the Tour de France should be staged in France. Either that or rename it the Tour of Europe or some such. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Damn right it is. But it brings out the curmudgeon in me. I have no objection to a major cycle race in the area. But the Tour de France should be staged in France. Either that or rename it the Tour of Europe or some such. Indeed. The tour de france actually ventures into a number of countries. Should be renamed the tour of Europe! 3 stages in the UK, too. That's more than a brief dip. That's an 8th (or so) of the race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Thats why I used the word near! Anyway can we come and stay at your mansion at Chatsworth for the duration? One will have the servants put up a tent in the grounds for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Indeed. The tour de france actually ventures into a number of countries. Should be renamed the tour of Europe! 3 stages in the UK, too. That's more than a brief dip. That's an 8th (or so) of the race As it's the Tour De France and they are running some in the UK, maybe run it past Tony's house and make it a slow section just so he can embrace the Gallic way of life :-) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 As it's the Tour De France and they are running some in the UK, maybe run it past Tony's house and make it a slow section just so he can embrace the Gallic way of life :-) I'm ready for them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 The Tour de France starts outside of France every second year (this year it started in Belgium and there was also a stage is Switzerland). It is just part of the tradition and one of the reasons it is the most prominent tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 17, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 17, 2012 Don't suppose they've published the actual routes/itinerary yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-Reacho Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Giro to start in Belfast (my back garden) in 2014 - heads to Dublin (Pat McQuaid's son's back garden coincidentally) on stage one. My favourite race - should be fun! I'm sure Contador, Hesjedal, Wiggo et al will be delighted about this when they see the current news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 The 2014 Tour de France will feature a stage that visits the London 2012 Olympic Park and ends on the Mall after two opening stages in Yorkshire. Leeds hosts the Grand Depart on 5 July, with the stage taking in the Yorkshire Dales before finishing in Harrogate. Stage two of the 101st Tour starts in York and passes through Keighley and Huddersfield on the way to Sheffield. The race last visited the UK in 2007, when London hosted the prologue and the opening stage. "Since the resounding success of the Grand Depart in London in 2007, we were very keen to return to the United Kingdom," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme. Britain boasts the reigning Tour de France champion, with Team Sky rider Sir Bradley Wiggins the country's first man to win the event last July. Prudhomme added: "Bradley Wiggins' historical victory last July and the enormous crowds that followed the cycling events in the streets of London during the Olympic Games encouraged us to go back earlier than we had initially planned. "Yorkshire is a region of outstanding beauty, with breathtaking landscapes whose terrains offer both sprinters and attackers the opportunity to express themselves." ... Stage one - Saturday, 5 July Leeds - Harewood - Otley - Ilkley - Skipton - Kettlewell - Aysgarth - Hawes - Reeth - Leyburn - Ripon - Harrogate Stage two - Sunday, 6 July York - Knaresborough - Silsden - Keighley - Haworth - Hebden Bridge - Elland - Huddersfield - Holmfirth - Sheffield Stage three - Monday, 7 July Cambridge - Epping Forest - the Olympic Park - the Mall ...more on link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 17, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted January 17, 2013 Sadly, doesn't actually go past my front door, which had been a possibility at one point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 french stuff happening in yorkshire it'll be like some sort of perfect storm of attitude I've already heard numerous northern types twattering on about how the frenchies won't be used to the conditions, for **** sake, it's a bit of countryside and it's what they do for a living. They don't random select a bunch of parisian commuters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2013 Indeed. The hills in Yorkshire are hardly of Pyreneean or Alpine standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted January 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2013 Even comparing them to the Vosges or Massif Central would be pushing it, afaict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 18, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2013 Nice, though. I really appreciate the scenery of the county Iive in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts