Tourist chief’s hopes high as cycle bosses confirm inspection

THE team trying to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire have announced the proposed route and facilities will be inspected by race officials in October.

Welcome to Yorkshire are bidding to host the 2016 “Grand Depart” – the first two days of racing – and have been invited to the event in Belgium next year to see how a foreign country hosts the event.

It follows a successful trip earlier this month to watch the start of this year’s race.

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The inspection team are understood to be spending three days in the region to analyse a route that is understood to start in Leeds before travelling through the Yorkshire Dales, east to Scarborough and the coast via York and the North York Moors, before dropping south to Hull and finally to Sheffield.

The racing would be spread over two days covering 112 miles each day, with Leeds hosting a festival of music and entertainment to welcome the teams and the Tour’s considerable entourage.

Peter Dodd, marketing and sales manager for Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The visit to the Grand Depart was very positive and made us more determined to pull out all the stops to bring it to the county, the diaries are out at the moment trying to find a mutually suitable date, likely to be early October, to bring the organisers over so we can showcase the route and Yorkshire’s fantastic facilities.”