Tour de France 2014 route revealed
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The first three stages of the 2014 Tour de France
Le Tour
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UK Sport 23 October 2013
The route for the 2014 Tour de France, including the Yorkshire-based Grand Départ and the Cambridge-London stage, has been revealed today.
The tour starts in Leeds on the 5th July 2014 and takes riders on a trip around North and West Yorkshire finishing in Harrogate. The following day Stage 2 begins in York and riders will circle Leeds and Bradford ending up in Sheffield while Stage 3 – the final stage in Britain - starts in Cambridge and finishes in London on the 7th July.
The UK stages of the 2014 Tour de France form part of UK Sport's Gold Event Series which, building on the legacy of London 2012, aims to bring 70 world class events to this country by 2019.
Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said: “The Tour de France is one of the most famous events in the sporting calendar and the route that has been devised for 2014 takes in some of the most spectacular landscapes and iconic venues in Britain.
“This will give a huge number of people the opportunity to witness world class sport and see some of their British sporting heroes in action at close quarters. We are delighted it forms part of our Gold Event Series as it also provides another opportunity for the UK to demonstrate it has that combination of great infrastructure, outstanding technical ability and passionate fans and volunteers to make this a world class event.”
Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “It was an honour to be able to represent Yorkshire at the presentation today and to showcase our proud county. Yorkshire’s will be the greatest Grand Départ in the history of the Tour de France. We will raise the bar for all future hosts with our Cultural Festival 100 days before the race, two stunning stages and a legacy that leaves a cycling imprint on the county which lasts for generations. The Grand Départ will put Yorkshire on the map as a destination capable of hosting world class events in a world class location, providing a springboard to greater things. We are excited, we are proud and we are ready to welcome the world.”
Christian Prudhomme, director of Le Tour, said: “We are excited to take Le Tour back to Britain again. I know the Grand Départ in Yorkshire will be visually stunning and technically challenging and the third stage from the cycling city of Cambridge to the historic heart of London will provide a fitting finale. The British cycling fans are passionate people and I am sure they will line the routes of the three stages cheering the teams and riders all the way from Yorkshire to London, providing an unforgettable start to the 2014 Tour.”
The first phase of new waymarked signs are being installed by North Yorkshire County Council along the route of Stage One. Approximately 50 will be used to guide people around the route with most of new signs in place by early 2014. Early plans are being drawn up for a sportive which would see cyclists riding the route of the Grand Départ in the weeks before the professional peloton. There are also plans to use the visit of the Tour de France as a catalyst to attract more international cycle races to Yorkshire as part of the Grand Départ Legacy programme.
For more information on the UK stages of the 2014 Tour de France visit www.letour.yorkshire.com
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