County gearing up for world championship bid

Preliminary talks have taken place between tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire and the Government about a potential bid.

However it would be contingent on the backing of British Cycling, the sport’s governing body, and the Treasury making available sufficient funds.

Mark Cavendish, whose family hail from Harrogate, won road racing’s iconic rainbow jersey in Denmark in 2011 when he became world champion, and both David Cameron and George Osborne are said to be supportive of a Yorkshire bid ahead of their visit to the region today.

Welcome to Yorkshire head of communications Dee Marshall said the “talks are at a very early stage”.

However she said the prospect of bidding for the race was an exciting proposition following the unprecedented success of last summer’s Tour de France Grand Départ, and the interest likely to be generated by the upcoming Tour de Yorkshire. She added that Welcome to Yorkshire’s wider intention was to promote the county as “the cycling heartland of Europe”.