Tour of Britain shone a spotlight on North Yorkshire’s glorious landscape - Carl Les
The big event for North Yorkshire this last weekend was Stage 4 of the Tour of Britain cycle race through all the dales of North Yorkshire. Once known as the Milk Race clearly for sponsorship reasons but also because of its connection to healthy diets and popular sport, it`s now sponsored by Lloyds Bank, with an ever-increasing media profile.
Such that the entire race is carried live on TNT Sports channels, as are the other races from Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and the grand dame of them all, The Tour de France.
It seems like only yesterday that we gathered in our thousands to watch the Grand Depart, start and finish. Surely this was the greatest achievement of Welcome to Yorkshire to put Yorkshire firmly on the international televisual screen, alongside such enduring features as Heartbeat and All Creatures Great & Small.
What good news for Thirsk in particular but the North Yorkshire visitor economy in general that another series of All Creatures is being broadcast starting this month and that the World of James Harriott is now featuring some Heartbeat memorabilia, a second string to their bow of interest. I haven’t been yet but I can’t wait to get along to see what they’ve got, I’m sure it will be well done.
Back to the Tour and the TV recording I made of it. First impressions leap off the screen - that it shows off North Yorkshire to a local, regional and international market, and encourages folk to visit. This is the balance between the cost of the event and the marketing publicity it generates, both that weekend and in future months and years.
I have friends who only went to see the Pyrenees because they thought the area looked most attractive whilst watching the Tour de France on TV. Our scenery is attractive, we know that as we live here and enjoy it every day.
As the commentators said “Yorkshire – you are beautiful!”. The running commentary is not only about the cycling world, the teams, the riders, the previous results and the tactics but is also about the places on the route, their features and history. Those who didn’t know before do now that Ripon is a city because of its cathedral, with its crypt being the oldest built form of any church in England, its Hornblower still carrying on a tradition that has lasted over a thousand years.
It was well researched, perhaps alongside the two commentators someone indigenous with more local knowledge could have added value, knowing for instance at once that the oldest sweet shop in England is actually in Pateley Bridge and not Leyburn. No mention was made as the riders passed Dibble Bridge in Nidderdale that years ago here was the worst road accident in North Yorkshire when a coach carrying an excursion from Teesside left the road, and of the work the council is continuing to do to make a section of road with risk more safe. It would have been an opportunity for remembrances and to express condolences.
North Yorkshire Council employees are experts at route planning for such cycling events, following on from our experience and lessons learnt after the Grand Depart and subsequent races. We have the expertise to weave a way through our landscapes, using the flat lands like the Netherlands, the cobblestones like Belgium, the essential steep climbs and the sweeping descents.
What is also self-evident is the enthusiasm of the spectators, many from overseas waving their national flags as they support ‘their’ teams from other countries. Of course the most common flag is ours, the pale blue drape with the white rose standing proud.
Most of the route has pockets of bystanders, building up into continuous crowds lining the roadside as the peloton passes through population centres. Communities do like to make an event of the event, helped this time with some small grant aid from the Mayoral Combined Authority funnelled through the Council’s local connections. Helmsley and Leyburn looked busy and bustling from the helicopter shots, but the many towns and villages passed through were also well covered at ground level from speeding camera carrying motorbikes.
What is less evident is the skillset, experience and capability of both the professionals, often giving up their time freely, and the very many volunteers. From the motorbike outriders who keep the rolling road closures safe with as little inconvenience as possible, to the roadcrews dealing with the traffic management and street furniture, the marshals with their whistles and orange flags who sign the route and hazards, to crowd direction and all the other activities that go into making a successful cycle race an event to be remembered. Thanks go to them.
This week cannot pass without remembrance of 9/11, 25 years ago but still fresh in our minds, that most vivid example of the failure of reason. All can remember where we were when the news broke. Whatever faith we follow, or none, whichever leader however extreme Americans choose democratically, God save America, land of the free and home of the brave.
Coun Carl Les is the Leader of North Yorkshire Council.