Tour de Yorkshire cycle race route revealed

The Tour de France brought spectators out in force

The route of the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire cycle race has been announced.

The three-day event starts on Friday 1 May in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

The riders will travel around Yorkshire to Scarborough, Selby, Wakefield and York, before ending the final day in West Yorkshire at Roundhay Park, Leeds.

The new event is to be run by Welcome to Yorkshire and Amaury Sport Organisation, which organises the Tour de France.

Stage one

Stage one is to start in the seaside town of Bridlington and finish further up the coast in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

During the day the riders will take in Flamborough Head and the North York Moors National Park, through Dalby Forest towards Pickering and back to the coast at Whitby. It will then head south to Robin Hood's Bay with the finish line on the seafront at Scarborough.

Stage two

Stage two on Saturday 2 May sees the race start outside Selby Abbey, North Yorkshire and finish in York.

The route takes in much of the Yorkshire Wolds, and takes the peloton towards Market Weighton, through North Newbald and on to Beverley. It will turn north to Malton, then on to Stamford Bridge before a circuit of York.

Stage three

The final day on Sunday 3 May starts in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and finishes in Leeds.

Riders will travel through South Yorkshire to Barnsley before heading on to Holmfirth and Ripponden, before riding the Cragg Vale descent - raced in the other direction on the Tour De France.

The riders will go through Hebden Bridge, Oxenhope and the cobbled streets of Haworth. After a steep climb at Goose Eye the riders visit Ilkley, with a climb up by the Cow and Calf rocks before Arthington and the finish line in Roundhay Park.

Each stage will be a distance of about 110 miles (180km)

Build on success

The race is also to include a women's race on the second day and a mass-participation "sportive". Here there will be several distances where people can ride the same route as the professionals. This will be held on 3 May.

The event is approved by cycling's governing body the UCI.

The three-day race was announced in September and hopes to build on the success of the Tour de France when an estimated three million people watched the Grand Départ over two days in Yorkshire, with the economic benefit to the region put at £102m.

Organisers hope the race will attract the world's leading road cyclists to Yorkshire

Danni Hewson

BBC Yorkshire Business Correspondent

"It's all about managing expectations" - if I had a penny for every time I've been told that in the last month I could just about fund the Tour de Yorkshire myself.

As it is, in West Yorkshire at least, that cost is being met by business rates; not an additional charge but a portion of the cash set aside for growth in the city region.

There is no doubt this bike race, like last year's grand depart will bring business growth.

Restaurants, hotels, cafes and bakeries are among those gearing up to capitalise on the three-day event, particularly in areas that missed out on last years extravaganza. But there is a word of caution.

This race is not a tried-and-tested fixture on the sporting calendar. It will not automatically enjoy international media attention, nor will it bring hoards of foreign visitors to watch the race so the economic boon cannot come close to the £100m the region enjoyed last year.

There is an appetite, there is opportunity, but there is also a need to manage expectations.