Sheffield City Council has defended its decision not to get involved in next year’s inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, saying it wants to give other places in the region the opportunity to host the race.
In July, Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali won Stage 2 of the Tour de France in Sheffield, the first of four stage victories that would help set him up for the overall victory three weeks later.
But unlike Leeds and York, the hosts of the starts of the opening two stages in that race, the Steel City was missing from the list of places that will figure in stage starts and finishes in the Tour de Yorkshire, which runs from 1-3 May.
The race, which is being run by Welcome to Yorkshire and Tour de France organisers ASO with the support of British Cycling, will also visit Bridlington, Leeds, Scarborough and Selby.
The Tour de France bringing an estimated £10 million economic benefit to Sheffield this year.
However, according to the Yorkshire Post, the council’s cabinet member for culture, Isobel Bowler, said: “I can confirm that Sheffield did not submit a bid to be included in next year’s Tour de Yorkshire.
“After this year’s hugely successful Grand Départ Stage 2 finish in Sheffield, we believed it only fair to allow other towns in the region that were unable to host the Tour this year should be able to welcome the new event in 2015.”
She added: “We will be building on the cycling legacy created by hosting the world’s greatest annual sporting event and we wish the new race every success next year.”
Full details of the route of the new race will be unveiled on 21 January, 100 days before it starts.
4 thoughts on “Sheffield council defends decision not to bid to host Tour de Yorkshire”
Don’t understand why
Don’t understand why Sheffield needs to defend itself.
If the council doesn’t wan tthe race for whatever reason, that’s their decision. I like the explanation though. Good on them.
I thought it was a bit odd
I thought it was a bit odd that Sheffield didn’t put a bid in at first. I don’t think Isobel Bowler’s comments are particularly honest either; is Sheffield council really so magnanimous as to suggest that other places have a go?
What isn’t said is that there was at least £100,000 worth of fees to go with any bid, which might be hard to sign off, given financial constraints. Additionally, the stage 2 finish, although absolutely brilliant, shut off a huge chunk of the city for a day and that might not go down so well as it did last July. They may also be unsure about the Tour de Yorkshire’s success. I wonder if these are the real reasons?
Early May is a funny time of
Early May is a funny time of year to have this event. However I think with enough support and a decent field this might end up as a world tour event.
Given all the fanfare and
Given all the fanfare and excitement and money. It’s hard to imagine any cash strapped council not wanting a piece of the cycling Pie. However I can only applause their magnanimous explaination. To why they didn’t tender for the 2015 event. I really can’t wait to see it as other commitments led to me missing the tour this year.
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