Tour de Yorkshire route unveiled - Ryedale and Pocklington to welcome world's top cyclists

The route for the 2018 cycling extravaganza has been unveiled today.

Next year’s events have been extended, with the men’s race running for four days, from May 3 to 6, and the women’s Tour de Yorkshire doubling in size from one to two days, on May 3 and 4.

The men’s race will pass through Pocklington, as it did earlier this year, and the Yorkshire Wolds during stage one, and Ryedale during stage three.

The first stage will start in Beverley before taking in the Wolds and East Yorkshire towns and villages including Pocklington, where there will be a sprint, Warter, Allerthorpe, Melbourne and Holme-on-Spalding Moor. The peloton will continue south and end with a sprint finish in Doncaster.

Stage three starts in Richmond and then heads east to Northallerton, Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale before a classic finish on the Scarborough seafront.

Meanwhile, stage two starts in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and finishes in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

Stage four begins in the West Yorkshire town of Halifax and returns to North Yorkshire, passing through to Masham and then into Nidderdale, before the race finishes in Leeds.

The stages for the Tour de Yorkshire women’s race will start each morning and follow the last 132km and 121.5km respectively of the men’s stages which commence later each day.

Chairman of Ryedale District Council’s policy and resources committee, Cllr Luke Ives, has welcomed the news that the international race is returning to the area. He said: “Last year’s race is estimated to have boosted the regional economy by over £60 million.

“I’m sure that once again Ryedale businesses and communities will put on a fantastic show to welcome the riders and the support teams for this race.”

The Mayor of Pocklington, Cllr David Sykes, is pleased that the town has been included in the route once again. He added: "We were not expecting it. It will be excellent for the town."