Build Up To The Tour de Yorkshire

Wednesday, 27 April 2016 09:20

With the second ever Tour de Yorkshire just days away, West Yorkshire Police have issued advice for people looking to watch the event.

The three day event starts this Friday (29 April). Stage one begins in Beverley and ends in Settle with stage two the main West Yorkshire event (Otley to Doncaster). Stage three is on Sunday 1 May. It starts on Middlesbrough and finishes in Scarborough.

As well as passing through West Yorkshire, stage two of the event also sees the women’s race (one stage only) pass along the same route.

It is expected that well over one million people line the streets to watch the Tour de Yorkshire over the three days of the event and some disruption is inevitable.

But police and partners have spent months of painstaking planning to ensure the event runs as smoothly as possible and that the jubilant scenes of the Tour de France Grande Depart 2014 and last year’s Tour de Yorkshire are repeated.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Battle is in charge of the policing operation in West Yorkshire for Saturday 30 April.

He said:

"I want the day to run as smoothly as possible – not only from a practical view but also to allow people to enjoy what promises to be a fantastic event.

"No one wants to be stuck in long tailbacks or traffic jams and I would urge anyone looking to travel on the Saturday to plan their journey accordingly.

"There will be road closures – but most of these will only be on a rolling basis for around 40 minutes as the race passes through.

"There’s already plenty of advice about which roads will be shut and when – including on the other days of the race and I would urge people to have a look and to think about the best option.

"This year we are using modern technology to give people the clearest indication possible of where the race is. Tracking software will give up to the minute progress of the race and anyone wanting to follow that can simply visit our partner Welcome to Yorkshire’s website to see where it is.

"We will also link to it from our own website and social media accounts which will be updated throughout the Saturday.

"To help spectators and other people going about their daily business know when the race has fully passed through their area there will be a vehicle run by Welcome to Yorkshire that will be at the back and is clearly marked as the final vehicle.

"This year there will be around 1,000 people volunteering as ‘Tour Makers’ over the three days and the event has previously highlighted the very best that Yorkshire has to offer

"Let’s make it another event to remember."

West Yorkshire Police and key partners will be issuing updates throughout the two races on Saturday through websites and social media accounts.

And like last year, if people send in their photos of the event, West Yorkshire Police will look to share as many as possible. People can tweet their pictures using#TdYPolicePics on twitter.

For a breakdown of the route for stage two visit http://letour.yorkshire.com/2016

To visit the West Yorkshire Police website (which also has details on the force’s social media accounts) visit

http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/ - the site also features a dedicated Tour de Yorkshire web page, with route maps, timings and other information.

The women’s race starts at 8:15am and is expected to finish at around 12noon.

The men’s race starts at 2:30p, and is expected to finish at around 5:30pm.

Both races follow the same 84.5mile (136km) course. The route starts in Otley town centre and then takes in Pool in Wharfedale, Harewood, East Rigton, Aberford, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Monk Fryston, Knottingley, Pontefract, Wentbridge, South Elmsall, Hooton Pagnell, Sprotbrough, Conisbrough, Tickhill and Bawtry before finishing in Doncaster.

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