French connection

But the region’s tourism board will succeed in lifting Yorkshire’s profile still further if its bid to bring the Tour de France to the county in 2016 is successful. For the simple fact is that this is no ordinary sporting event. The greatest endurance test in cycling has a worldwide following of more than two billion television viewers, the sort of number of which marketing people can only dream as they try to entice cycling enthusiasts to Yorkshire.

And surely, once the glories of this region are set before a global TV audience, the number of tourists who will follow in the cyclists’ slipstream is incalculable.

Of course, before the potential rewards can be counted, Yorkshire has to convince the Tour that it is indeed the ideal place to host a section of this prestigious event. Certainly, this region is blessed with some of Britain’s finest track and road cyclists, but what about the support of the wider public?

This is why Welcome to Yorkshire is launching the Back le Bid campaign to try to demonstrate popular support for this enterprising attempt to bring acclaim and investment to the county. It is also why the organisation, as it hosted a party in York today to celebrate its achievements, is typically refusing to rest on its laurels, considerable though they are.