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11
Nov 2020
Last Updated: 11/11/2020
2021 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled
The news means for the first time in years there will be no major cycling event in the Harrogate district.
The Tour de Yorkshire passing through Filey in 2018. Picture courtesy of SW Pix
The 2021 Tour de Yorkshire has been cancelled, it was announced today.
The sixth edition of the event was due to take place from April 30 to May 3.
The 2020 race which was due to pass through Pateley Bridge, Kirkby Malzeard, Masham, Summerbridge and Beckwithshaw was also cancelled.
It means for the first time in years there will be no major cycling event in the Harrogate district.
James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said the organisation could not financially commit to it. He said:
“During these uncertain times Welcome to Yorkshire needs to focus on the immediate needs of the industry without committing both financial and human resources towards any activity or event that we cannot be certain of.
"Cycling has become synonymous with Yorkshire and the Tour de Yorkshire has become a firm fixture on the world cycling calendar due to the reception the riders and teams receive in our county.
"Whilst it is very disappointing that we will be bereft of this wonderful race for another year the decision we have made is the right one and perhaps the only one we could make."
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The Tour de Yorkshire has provided significant economic benefits to the county since it was created in the wake of the success of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Départ in Yorkshire.
It attracted four million roadside spectators.
Mason said the decision had been made after discussions with race organisers, French company the Amaury Sport Organisation.
Yann Le Moenner, director general of the ASO, said:
"We will collectively do our best to relaunch the event in 2022 and give the chance to the world's best riders to be on the Yorkshire roads in front of one of the most enthusiastic audiences the cycling world has ever seen.”
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