Over 2 million spectators cheered on this year’s Tour de Yorkshire as the county was heralded as fast becoming the heartland of cycling by Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme.Cyclists and organisers have been overwhelmed by the stunning support for the race which over all winner Thomas Voeckler said “makes me want to come back next year!” and compared it to racing in a stage of Tour de France.
Thomas from Team Direct Energie added “When you see all the crowds on the road I am sure that in 20 to 30 years there will still be a Tour de Yorkshire so I am really happy that my name is on the winner’s list.”
Nathan Haas from Team Dimension Data who won the King of the Mountains jersey, called for the Tour de Yorkshire to grow bigger than a 2:1 classification and thanked the Tour de Yorkshire organisers and the “great crowds”. He said: “As a team we are privileged to be part of an event as incredible as this and have fans as engaged as they are.”
The 136km race was a game changer for women’s cycling as it took the same route as the men’s stage 2 and offered over £50,000 (€63,623) – currently the biggest prize pot in women’s cycling.
The winner of the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire was Kirsten Wild from Team Hitec Products who crossed the finish line in Doncaster before thousands of cheering fans.
Yorkshire was transformed into a sea of blue and yellow as the county got behind the second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire.
Mr Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, said: “There have been huge crowds, huge enthusiastic crowds who respect the riders. The Tour de Yorkshire is on the podium for being one of the best bike races in the world and for me the best public for cycling in the world.
“The people of Yorkshire have passion and pride. I love what the Tour de Yorkshire has done for children who are watching this on the route and at the start and finish lines. These are memories that those children will never forget.
The passion is growing and growing and Yorkshire is fast becoming the heartland of cycling.”
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “Yorkshire is the true winner. The way the people of Yorkshire have taken this race to their hearts is overwhelming. The county is fast becoming the capital of cycling and that is down to the incredible support from communities who have turned out in their droves. Yorkshire you should be proud!”
The final stage promised to test the rider’s legs with six categorised climbs and it lived up to the brutal profile. The day saw many attacks with the pace never wavering, and there were some especially impressive turns put in by young British riders.
The race came down to a game of cat and mouse from 5km to go, with Nicolas Roche (Team Sky) and Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) storming into Scarborough to incredible levels of noise and support from the crowds. With less than 1km to go, Voeckler made a move and outsprinted Roche to take the win, securing him the overall title in the process.
A truly international affair, the race’s overall top ten included riders from nine different countries.
For a full list of the top 10 and rest of the general classification go to www.letour.yorkshire.com
