Resort hosts cycling festival

HUNDREDS of cyclists descended on Scarborough to take part in a biking festival as the sport’s profile in the region continues to grow ahead of the arrival of the Tour de France’s Grand Départ next year.

The annual Scarborough Festival of Cycling was staged in the resort for the third time throughout the weekend with events including road and grass track racing as well as BMX and skateboarding.

The festival was held as anticipation builds for when the Tour de France’s opening stages will be held in Yorkshire next summer. The route will set off from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5 before starting in York and finishing in Sheffield the following day. Mirfield-born Brian Robinson, who was the first British rider to finish the Tour de France in 1955 and the first to win a stage in 1958, was at this year’s Scarborough festival.