WHAT a fantastic weekend the Grand Départ in Yorkshire proved to be.

It was wonderful to see the crowds watching and particularly all the families cycling to events and vantage points along the route.

The atmosphere on Knavesmire on Sunday morning was electric and enthusiasm of York for cycling and Le Tour was in clear evidence around York.

Huge congratulations should go to all the people who helped make the event such a success.

Yorkshire has set out to be one of the world’s best regions for cycling and Sustrans is working with Cycle Yorkshire and other partners to make this happen.

We need to build more cycle routes, we need to make our roads safer and we need to support schools and communities to promote cycling for daily journeys.

Already there have been nearly 20,000 downloads of a Tour de France curriculum pack and huge interest in the Slow Tour of Yorkshire – 21 cycling novice-friendly rides around the county. Now is absolutely the right time to build on all this Yorkshire passion and secure a legacy for cycling in the region.

Paul Osborne, Regional Director, Sustrans Yorkshire.