Tour of Britain 2022: Event could finish in Yorkshire - the 'home of British cycling'

Race organisers, the SweetSpot Group, is exploring plans to end the next race in Ripon in September 2022.

Emails obtained by The Yorkshire Post, via a Freedom of Information request, show the firm approached North Yorkshire County Council about bringing the race back to the county in July, before the Tour de Yorkshire was cancelled.

An email sent by a council official to James Mason, the chief executive of the Welcome to Yorkshire tourism agency at the time, stated: “They are looking at the potential for a finish in Ripon, after a start in the North-East. Over the past 10 years or so SweetSpot have largely given Yorkshire a wide birth, with stages bypassing us.

"They seem keen to involve Yorkshire, recognising the ‘home of British cycling’ with many top riders and events taking place in the county. We are discussing to assess the benefits of hosting the event.”

In the email, the official asks whether bringing the race to Yorkshire would affect Welcome to Yorkshire’s relationship with the Tour de Yorkshire’s organisers, the Amaury Sport Organisation.

It also states that councils in Yorkshire had signed a contract which prohibits them from hosting another major cycling race two months before, or one month after, the Tour de Yorkshire, which was established as a legacy of the region staging the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2014.

It adds: “As with any event there is a hosting fee involved in the event and as such we will be reviewing available funding, benefits of hosting the ToB (Tour of Britain) etc before coming to a decision.”

The race, which is billed as “United Kingdom’s Very Own Tour De France”, was first staged in 1945.

Last year’s event saw riders set off from Penzanze and ride to Aberdeen, covering 820 miles in eight stages, but Yorkshire has been omitted from the route since 2009.

But there is a chance to bring the race to the region as the 2022 Tour de Yorkshire has been cancelled after the 2020 and 2021 races were postponed due to Covid-19.

In a joint statement, the Amaury Sport Organisation and Welcome to Yorkshire said the 2022 race “would be unviable” due to “the impact of the Covid-19, combined with escalating financial challenges”.

The race has struggled to attract sponsorship and Welcome to Yorkshire claimed this year that it was no longer in a position to subsidise the event and called on councils to provide financial support and cover potential sponsorship losses.

Mr Mason also told council leaders that if the 2022 event was called off, then it “would almost certainly mean the end of the Tour de Yorkshire”.

SweetSpot Group has been approached for a comment.

North Yorkshire County Council has been trying to establish if there is an appetite for another major cycling race in the county.

During talks about the Tour of Britain in August, a council official told Jonathan Durling, the partnerships director at organisers, the SweetSpot Group, there may be some “cycle race fatigue”.

In an email, the official wrote: “There is a need to understand what the political appetite is for the race – in terms of costs and resources and impact on local communities.”

The email was sent before the 2022 edition of the Tour de Yorkshire was cancelled.