The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) in road traffic collisions in a part of Yorkshire that featured in the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France has almost doubled.

North Yorkshire County Council has now launched an investigation into how to reduce cycling casualties in the area, reports Richmondshire Today.

According to the local authority’s annual road casualty report, among all road users, the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions in Richmondshire fell by 17 per cent in 2016 compared to the average for the preceding four years.

However, during the same period, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured rose by 90 per cent.

The report said: “This year’s total of 11 cyclists killed or seriously injured in Richmondshire is the joint highest for the county since records began.”

At a council meeting, Richmondshire Highways Manager Richard Marr, commenting on the casualty figures, said: “The worrying part of it is the cyclists.

“That has been rising every year since 2012,” he continued.

“There is work going on to see if there is anything different we can do from a highways authority perspective to deal with that.”

He said that increased cyclist casualties in Richmondshire and in North Yorkshire as a whole might be linked to growth in cycling in the area due to the interest created by the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart and other events such as the Tour de Yorkshire.

The district will also host next year’s UCI road cycling world championships, with all events finishing in Harrogate.

The local authority is now studying police incident reports to discover whether there are some common factors at work and what steps could be taken to reduce casualties, such as placing warning signs at particularly hazardous locations.