Cycle firm in prime position for Tour benefits

Adam Evans who has opened Ilkley Cycles in the premises of the old Wesleyan Chapel in Skipton Road, Ilkley

The company’s new £500,000 showroom is directly on the route of this summer’s Tour de France and, for a few seconds at least, could be visible to the hundreds of millions of TV viewers watching the race as it sweeps through Yorkshire.

Adam Evans, the majority owner, and shareholders James Myers and Jamie Shuttleworth decided to move JD Cyles from its backstreet location to a more prominent position on the A65 to grow the business and capture the passing traffic.

Mr Myers said 70,000 cars use the road at peak times plus the many two wheelers en route to some of the country’s most spectacular cycling scenery.

Ilkley Cycles opened for business last week, selling bikes, clothing and accessories and operating a service centre.

Mr Myers said the response from customers to the new location has been unanimously positive, especially for the in-store cafe, the Fuel Station.

The concept store has a display for road bikes in the window, while the interior mountain bike section has a rustic feel.

The company secured the lease two days before the announcement of the route that cyclists will take during July’s Tour.

Mr Myers is positive that the business will benefit during both the Tour and aftermath as cycling reaches new levels of popularity.

The company is already seeing an increase in the number of European cyclists coming to hire bikes to ride the route the Tour will take.

The 2014 Tour de France begins in Leeds on Saturday July 5, with stage one taking the riders 190km to Harrogate.

Stage two on Sunday July 6 is 200km from York to Sheffield, while stage three on Monday July 7 is 159km from Cambridge to London.

It is estimated that 98 per cent of the population of Yorkshire will be within an hour of the route during its two days in the county, with the economic benefit expected to be in excess of £100m.