TWO White Rose cycling stars have helped launch the first guide showing teachers, community leaders and parents how to play their part in ensuring next year’s Tour de France leaves a lasting impact.

Dean and Russell Downing saddled up to support the schools resource pack unveiled yesterday, which leaders of Yorkshire’s successful bid to host next summer’s Grand Depart – the opening stages of the world-famous cycle race – say will form part of the mission to create the county's ten-year "cycling legacy".

The free pack, showcased under the new Cycle Yorkshire banner, ties into the National Curriculum for Key Stages Two and Three and includes lesson plans for subjects ranging from art and media, literacy and PE to science, French, geography and history.

Yorkshire’s Tour chiefs hope it will help draw a younger audience to the 101st running of the race, with the second day of the Grand Depart starting in York on July 6 next year after the first day ends in Harrogate.

“It promises to provide students with an engaging and exciting way of supporting their wider learning while tapping into the Tour coming to our region,” said Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity.

“It is one key part of a number of initiatives which will make up our legacy programme of Yorkshire’s Grand Depart.”

Kersten England, regional Tour de France legacy lead and City of York Council chief executive, said she hoped youngsters aged seven to 14 from beyond Yorkshire would use the pack.

She said: “Local authorities and cycling partners across the region are working together to make this a great region for safe cycling, inspiring more people to cycle more often.

“The key to this vision is ensuring future generations of cyclists understand the benefits of cycling and have access to the skills, facilities and equipment to cycle confidently and safely."

The York authority hopes to raise the city's cycling levels by 20 per cent by 2016.

The pack – which can be downloaded for free from letouryorkshire.com – has been developed with charity Sustrans.

Paul Osborne, Sustrans’ Yorkshire programme manager, said: “It draws on the excitement of the Tour to inspire thousands of children to cycle to school.”