Tour of Britain thrills crowds along route

The route through South Yorkshire passed Conisbrough Castle, near Doncaster

Thousands of people have lined the roads across South Yorkshire to catch a glimpse of the Tour of Britain cycle race.

Stage three left Sheffield at 11:00 BST, before skirting the Peak District on its route to Rotherham and Doncaster ahead of the finish in Barnsley, where Welsh rider Stephen Williams crossed the line first to claim back to back stage victories.

The UK's biggest cycling race is held over six days, starting in Kelso in the Scottish Borders and finishing in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on Sunday.

The South Yorkshire stage included 7,487ft (2,282m) of ascents including Long Lane above Loxley, and Oughtibridge Lane, or Jawbone Hill - which featured in the Tour de France in 2014.

The 103 mile (166.1km) third stage took riders from Sheffield to Barnsley

Watching the race in Oughtibridge were Adelle and Jaxon Fearne, with Carole and Lester Miller.

Ms Miller said: "It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen it.

"I only came out to do some shopping, but I’m so glad I’ve been part of it. They were so fast."

Mr Miller added: "It’s just amazing, [it's] the second time it’s been here.

"It’s just great for Sheffield, everybody comes here to cycle because of the hills.

"The Jawbone is a killer and it’s famous now."

Thousands of people came out to watch the race

Jawbone Hill - a mile-long (1.7km) climb averaging 9% elevation - was the second King of the Mountains climb of the stage.

The riders then passed through Chapeltown, Wath upon Dearne, Swinton, and Maltby before an intermediate sprint through Tickhill.

The peloton then went around Doncaster via Conisbrough and Denaby with the 103 mile (166km) ending after an 800m uphill ride along County Way in Barnsley.

Denise and Terry Robinson brought their mascot Bertie to spectate

Also among the crowd in Oughtibridge were Denise and Terry Robinson, together with their mascot Bertie.

Mrs Robinson said: “We’ve watched the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées three times, but this was even better.

"We are huge fans, and having it here on the doorstep is so special.

"There’s just nothing like it in the world, and the climbs here in Oughti are serious.”

Her husband said: “Bertie has come to every tour with us.

"He’s special because we met when we were both working at Bassetts in Sheffield in 1993. We like to get him on TV."

The Tour of Britain is organised by British Cycling and held annually in September.

Live coverage of the race will be shown daily on ITV4.

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