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As huge fans of cycling, we were thrilled to be invited to the Tour de Yorkshire 2019 route launch in Leeds recently.
The 2019 race will be the fifth edition of the race and next year it is going to be bigger than ever with some positive changes, plus lots of the familiar.
This years launch took place at the Civic Hall in Leeds city centre, earlier in the year, the host towns had been confirmed – These are the places in Yorkshire which will host either the start or finish. The route launch pulls it all together and shares which host towns will be used on which days and how the riders will get between the two.
The race itself has been given an upgrade by the UCI to HC status which is the highest level outside of the ProTour. This means, even more Elite racing cyclists will hopefully be in attendance next year, plus some of the race goes on the UCI Road World Championships route which is happening here in Yorkshire in September 2019. This will be the only chance for the riders to check out the course!
Once again there will be the women’s race which this year is bringing in some new elements. Firstly, it will take place on Friday and Saturday (last year it was Thursday and Friday) giving women cycling more exposure for the fans on the roadside – There are always more fans on the weekend. The women’s race, like the men’s, will receive full race coverage on the TV and they will compete on the exact same routes as the men do. These are all big and positive changes in women’s cycling in Yorkshire and across the world.
You can see the full route for all 4 stages on the Tour de Yorkshire website. We’re especially looking forward to Sunday’s stage which is almost the same as the final day of the 2018 version – It was a tough race for the cyclists including many steep climbs including the infamous Park Rash!
Like last year, we will probably watch the finish in Leeds and perhaps manage to catch a few of the other stages around and about. If not, we will be glued to the TV instead. The Tour de Yorkshire is the inspiration behind our best selling Vive Le Yorkshire t-shirt!
The Tour de Yorkshire is a legacy from the Tour de France’s Grand Depart and what a legacy it is! We can’t wait for May 2019 already!
