Tour de Yorkshire: New hope that race may be back next year

There are fresh hopes that the Tour de Yorkshire could be back next year, after a Manchester-based company bought certain assets of former co-organisers Welcome To Yorkshire, which went into administration last month after local authorities pulled the plug on funding it.

First held in 2015, the year after the region hosted the Grand Depart of the Tour de France, the men’s and women’s Tour de Yorkshire races were jointly organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO, in partnership with British Cycling.

But the coronavirus pandemic as well as the financial crisis that engulfed the inward investment and tourism agency mean that the race has not been held since 2019, with this year’s edition the third in succession to have been cancelled.

But hopes that the race will return have been boosted by the news that the brand as well as its social media channels, websites and its stake in the race have been bought by a company named Silicon Dales, reports The Yorkshireman.

The website says that the new owner plans to base the relaunched business in York and that its CEO, Robin Scott, has made relaunching the race his first priority.

“In the future, Yorkshire.com will be aimed at marketing Yorkshire as a tourist destination to visitors from overseas,” he said.

“We will attract new people to the region, and bolster our great county’s tourism sector, which has – like the rest of us – endured a truly dreadful couple of years.

“I’m now focusing on our first challenge, which is attempting to speak with all interested parties in order to try to save the Tour de Yorkshire.

“The clock is ticking on that very fast, and I can’t promise success, but we will pull out all the stops to make a deal happen for that fantastic cycling event.”

Speaking of his decision to try and rescue the agency – and the race – he said: “When we learned the opportunity was still there to get the websites and content, we moved very quickly to try to save the memory of the fantastic 2014 Grand Depart, as well as attempting to preserve the legacy Tour de Yorkshire event.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in Welcome to Yorkshire for their work promoting our region. We will make every effort to preserve the legacy of those efforts,” he added.

The planned 2022 edition of the race was cancelled last August, with ASO saying at the time that the event would be unviable” as a result of “the impact of the Covid-19, combined with escalating financial challenges.”

> Hopes that Tour de Yorkshire may return despite co-organisers entering administration