With a little more than a month to go before the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire, organisers have unveiled the 18 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams which will compete in the race.
The teams were unveiled by Welcome to Yorkshire’s Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O’s Christian Prudhomme at the UK’s largest tourism conference, Y16, in York today.
Full details of the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire Race were also unveiled at Y16, where it was announced that World Champion Lizzie Armitstead will compete. The race, which begins in her home town of Otley on Saturday 30 April, will be the first time she will have raced on British roads in her World Champions jersey.
In total the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire race will see 14 teams, including eight UCI registered, compete over 135km on exactly the same course as the men, who tackle the route later the same day.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said, “The inaugural edition of the Tour de Yorkshire was a phenomenal success with riders, teams and over one and a half million spectators enjoying three fantastic days of racing. This year we have attracted some of the world’s top men’s and women’s teams as well as a very strong British selection, and combined these will no doubt provide an inspirational and enthralling weekend of racing”.
In total, there are eight British women’s teams:
Wiggle High5
Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
Drops Cycling Team
Great Britain national team (for whom Lizzie Armitstead will ride)
Breeze (British Cycling development squad)
Team WNT
Boot Out Breast Cancer Cycling Team
Fusion RT Fierlan
And six international teams, who are:
Hitec Products
Cyclance Pro Cycling
Ale’Cippolin
Team Liv-Plantur
Lares Waowdeals
Team Footon Velosport
Many of the men’s teams are returning to Yorkshire after the hugely successful first edition of the race in 2015, which was won by Team Sky’s Lars Petter Nordhaug. Team Sky are among those returning, along with BMC, Giant Alpecin and Lotto NL-Jumbo.
In full, the men’s teams are:
Seven World Teams:
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Dimension Data (RSA)
Orica GreenEdge (AUS)
Team Giant – Alpecin (GER)
Team Katusha (RUS)
Team Lotto NL Jumbo (NED)
Team Sky (GBR)
Five UCI Pro Continental teams:
One Pro Cycling (GBR)
Cofidis, Solutions Credits (FRA)
Roompot – Oranje Peloton (NED)
Direct Energie (FRA)
Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise (BEL)
Five UCI Continental teams:
Team Raleigh GAC (GBR)
NFTO (GBR)
Team WIGGINS (GBR)
JLT Condor (GBR)
Madison Genesis (GBR)
Great Britain National Team (GBR)
A provisional rider list will be issued in April with riders confirmed closer to the race.
Asda unveiled as the title sponsor of the hugely expanded event
There will be full TV coverage of the race
Organisers have secured a prize fund of over £50,000 (€63,623), making this the most lucrative race in the world
UCI ranking means a mix of international and domestic teams will compete
Yorkshire’s own World Champion Lizzie Armitstead is the first rider to announce she will compete in the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Saturday 30 April.
The race has secured title sponsorship with Asda supermarkets and will take place on exactly the same course as the men’s race being held later that day, on a 135km route from Otley to Doncaster.
Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O have also announced that the prize fund makes it the most lucrative women’s cycle race in the world, with a total of £50,000 on offer to individuals and teams.
The first prize for this one day race will be £15,000, second will be £10,000 and third, £5,000, with prize money down to 20th place.
Otley born Armitstead, who currently tops the women’s world rankings after a series of impressive wins in the season so far, said:
“The Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s race will be my first race in the UK in my World Champions jersey and it’s an absolute dream to be starting in my home town.”
Speaking of the sponsorship and reasons to support women’s racing, Andy Clarke, Asda President and CEO said:
“It’s a privilege to be supporting the Tour de Yorkshire women’s race and helping to raise the profile of women’s sports. In 2014 Asda was the official partner of the Tour Makers for the Yorkshire Grand Départ, which was a resounding success. We’re incredibly proud of our Yorkshire roots and wanted to remain part of this exciting legacy that works to bring communities together in celebration of an amazing sport set against the backdrop of an unbeatable county.”
The series of announcements continued today with news that the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire will be broadcast live, on ITV4 and Eurosport.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:
“Today is a hugely significant milestone for women’s racing. We’ve come good on our promise to expand the women’s race and rather than rest at bringing parity in terms of the men’s route and broadcast coverage, we’ve gone further to offer the world’s most lucrative prize fund.
“Together with our sponsors, we’re bringing women’s racing the respect it deserves and I can think of no better way to start our race in Otley than with our very own World Champion on the start line.”
The Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire Race will see a ceromial start at 8.15am in Otley before the race begins at 8.30am. The riders are expected to finish between 11.59am and 12.22pm in Doncaster.
Teams for both the men’s and women’s races were also unveiled in York today.
As the women’s race is ranked 1.2 by the world governing body, UCI, it has been able to attract some of the world’s best riders as well as domestic teams. Armitstead will race with the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Race timings were announced last week for the TDY 2016 you can download them below:
Team Ford Ecoboost are proud to announce the KALAS Sportswear will be the team’s clothing partner for 2016. KALAS have been working closely with the team to produce a striking blue and orange design thats takes elements from Ford’s racing heritage and coupled with the latest materials has delivered a design that stands out in the peloton. The team have been issued a complete range of race and leisure wear that will ensure they can perform to the top of their game whatever the British weather can throw at them.
Team Manager Nick Yarworth
“I first looked at the KALAS range back in September at the Cycling Show at the NEC. I was impressed with the KALAS women’s collection, the variety, the technology used and of course the quality of the product . KALAS have been very helpful from the start, guiding us through the design phase through to the selection of garments. As a team manager I really could not asked for more”.
Team Captain and current National Criterium Champion Nikki Juniper.
“I’m really pleased that we will be using KALAS this year. The company have a great reputation in the industry and their Women’s range is second to none. It was obvious to us that their women’s range was not an afterthought and they have spent a significant amount of time developing that range of products. Its good to see an equal selection of both Women’s and Men’s kit”.
KALAS UK Manager Andrew Crocker
“KALAS have been around for 25 years, however 2016 promises to be our most exciting year to date, both in the UK and across the globe. Being involved with such a talented team of dedicated riders is a privilege. Its great to see a blue chip company such as Ford taking the opportunity to use cycle sport as a vehicle for promotion. Personally I can not wait to see the team battling in the televised crit series”.
Our sub Editor Heather Bamforth has been shortlisted for the Ambassador of Women’s Sport Award (#BeAGameChanger Awards 2016) organised by the Women’s Sports Trust. Thanks to all our readers for nominating her. Heather is fighting our corner and flying the banner for women in sport [particularly cycling] and business. Heather is the founder [and trustee] of The Racing Chance Foundation, she is working hard to get women to compete at the grass roots level of cycling while holding down careers, and using the sport to enhance and compliment skill sets that can be utilised in our day to day lives and at work.
The shortlist for 2016 is an extremely strong field, Heather lines up with 6 other women; Judy Murray (Tennis Coach) being the high profile name that jumps out at first glance. They’re joined by, Annie Zaidi (previous winner of the Helen Rollason Award and Muslim Women’s Football Coach), Ebony Rainford-Brent (the first black woman to play Cricket for England, now the first woman to be appointed Director of Surrey County Cricket Club), Liz Dimmock (Founder of Women Ahead), Maureen McGonigle (founder of Scottish Women in Sport), Vicky Huyton (founder of The Female Coaching Network).
I spoke to Heather shortly after she got the news and asked how she felt, “Wow! I’m blown away, it’s great to know so many people support and value what you do. It’s a tough shortlist, but if it helps raise the profile of women’s cycling and the work of my charity; The Racing Chance Foundation, what more would I want? Thank you to everyone to voted for me, I am humbled.”
We’ve got our fingers crossed for Heather in the final. We shall keep you posted!
To learn more about the shortlist and the Women’s Sports Trust visit their website: www.womenssporttrust.com
The route for the 2016 edition of the Tour of Britain, British Cycling’s premier road cycling event, has been launched in Bristol this evening [Thursday 25 February] featuring an overall start in Glasgow and finale in the centre of London plus three stages in the South West of England, including a return to the summit finish of Haytor on Dartmoor, and a challenging individual time trial and circuit race split stage in the heart of Bristol on the penultimate day.
Having last welcomed the Tour of Britain in 2008, Glasgow will host the Grand Depart of the opening stage on Sunday 4 September, building on the success of hosting the Commonwealth Games and British National Road Race Championships in recent years.
The opening stage will finish in Dumfries and Galloway’s Castle Douglas, last visited by the Tour of Britain in 2006, before the second stage takes place in Cumbria and the Lake District between Carlisle and Kendal, including the iconic climbs of Whinlatter Pass and The Struggle, before the uphill finish on Beast Banks.
The third stage of the Tour of Britain will feature a first visit to Cheshire East with a stage from Congleton to Tatton Park outside Knutsford, which will feature a spectator friendly loop giving fans at the finish the chance to see the race twice. The stage will also tackle the iconic 10-kilometre climb of the Cat and Fiddle in Cheshire’s Peak District.
Denbighshire will host its first stage start as Stage Four begins in Denbigh, heading south through Mid-Wales before Powys hosts a first stage finish, on the Royal Welsh Showground at Builth Wells.
Stage Five begins in Wales in Rhondda Cynon Taf at Aberdare, heading across South Wales and through the Forest of Dean into Gloucestershire before the finish in Bath, a first for the city.
This will begin three days of racing in the South West after a one-year absence for the area from the Tour of Britain route that will see the world’s top teams head to Devon for a repeat of the 2013 summit finish at Haytor in the Dartmoor National Park.
Bristol will host the penultimate stage of the race, which will be a split stage with riders contesting an 15-kilometre individual time trial in the morning before a 5-lap circuit race in the afternoon. Both stages will take place entirely on a proposed 15.3-kilometre circuit finishing atop the Bristol Downs. The 600-metre SKODA King of the Mountains climb of Bridge Valley Road, which averages 9%, will feature in the final kilometres of a both stages.
London will again host the final stage, presented by Transport for London, on Sunday 11 September, which will use the same circuit as in 2015, focused on Regent Street, the Heart of London and the Northbank, with a repeat of the finish on Regent Street St James just below Piccadilly Circus.
Commenting on the route announcement, Tour of Britain Race Director Mick Bennett said;
“We are confident that this year’s route for the Tour of Britain will provide the opportunity for eight exciting days of racing and a multitude of opportunities for riders and teams to be aggressive and make the race. We believe that with the combination of longer stages of over 200-kilometres, the tough circuit and time trial in Bristol and the summit finish at Haytor we have not just a great preparation for the World Championships but also a fantastic race that will showcase the British countryside and stands alone in its own right as a race riders will want to win.”
“The route includes major cities such as Glasgow, Bristol, Bath and London, and visits each of Scotland, England and Wales, while at the same time touching many smaller communities and areas where we know the passion and support for cycling is so great.”
Jonny Clay, British Cycling director of cycle sport and membership, said:
“We are proud to announce the 2016 route for Britain’s national tour. Every year the Tour of Britain offers a chance for the public to see some of the world’s best road riders racing through their local area. Last year’s race had a bit of everything; fast flat sections, rolling roads and a great hill top finish which led to exciting racing for the competitors and fans alike. .This year’s route has all the same ingredients, so promises to be a great event.”
Chain Reaction Cycles continue their partnership with the race and sponsorship of the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Classification, won in 2015 by Team WIGGIN’s Owain Doull, while UK parcel carrier Yodel will continue to sponsor the daily intermediate YodelDirect Sprints classification, which Peter Williams of ONE Pro Cycling won last September.
ŠKODA remain official car suppliers and sponsors of the King of the Mountains jersey, also won by Williams in 2015.
For the fifth successive year fans can look forward to enjoying daily live coverage of all eight stages on ITV4, with the channel broadcasting a three-hour live programme from each stage, plus one-hour of highlights every evening during the race.
Commenting on the 2016 event, Hugh Roberts, Chief Executive of Tour of Britain organisers SweetSpot said; “This year’s Tour of Britain features a fantastic combination of major cities like Glasgow, Bristol and London, smaller communities across Scotland, England and Wales and the stunning scenery and testing climbs of the Lake District and Dartmoor. With hundreds of thousands of fans at the roadside and millions more watching via live television in the UK and around the world, the 2016 Tour of Britain is a fantastic showcase for the brands involved in the event.
“We thank our jersey partners Chain Reaction Cycles, SKODA and Yodel and all our other Official Partners and Suppliers for their continued support.”
The Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their door step.
About the Tour of Britain
Re-launched in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, the Tour of Britain is British Cycling’s premier road cycling event giving cycling fans the opportunity to see the world’s best teams and riders competing on their doorstep. The Tour of Britain is the UK’s highest ranked professional stage race and the country’s largest free-to-watch sporting event, organised annually by SweetSpot Group.
Ranked at the 2.HC level by the UCI, the Tour of Britain attracts the world’s top cyclists, including Olympic and World Champions and Tour de France stage winners, to compete on British roads each September, with three-hours of live coverage a day on ITV4.
The 2016 Tour of Britain takes place from Sunday 4 to Sunday 11 September.
The Tour de Yorkshire, one of the most spectacular and well received events in the British sporting calendar, returns for a second year with new routes and new challenges. The huge crowds will be entertained by Race Ambassadors and a Tour de Yorkshire Caravan which will visit key points on the route before the race starts.
The route will take the 18 teams of eight riders to all four corners of Yorkshire, linking together the county’s sporting, historic, industrial and literary greats.
Stage One begins in Beverley, home to one of England’s finest Minsters, before the peloton races to Tadcaster and on to Knaresborough which was the scene of some of the biggest crowds for the Tour de France in 2014. Taking in some of the Grand Depart 2014 route, a series of climbs takes the riders past Brimham Rocks before a finish in Settle.
On Stage Two, men and women will face exactly the same stage which starts in Otley, home of the current women’s road World Champion Lizzie Armitstead. From Otley riders travel south, on roads not raced on in the Tour de France or Tour de Yorkshire, towards Conisbrough Castle and on to Doncaster.
Stage Three will be familiar to those who raced in 2015, starting in Captain James Cook’s home town of Middlesbrough, then into Herriot Country before tackling the infamous Sutton Bank, the first of six King of the Mountain points in just one stage. Riders then head over the North York Moors and down towards Scarborough for what promises to be a thrilling finale and a race to the very end.
Riders joined host towns at a launch event in Otley, where Welcome to Yorkshire’s Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O.’s Christian Prudhomme unveiled the full route.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:
“For next year’s race we’ve selected routes which showcase Yorkshire’s stunning scenery and will also deliver an excellent sporting event. Our first race was phenomenally successful, bringing 1.5 million spectators to the roadside, generating over £50million for the regional economy and being broadcast around the world – not many races can say that. The stages we’ve revealed today are eagerly anticipated by fans, riders and teams and we have all the ingredients for another spectacular race which will bring the crowds back out.”
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, said:
“I am always happy to be back in Yorkshire and today marks an important milestone for the race. Feedback from teams and riders last year was excellent and this year we have three stages which together create a race right to the end; the final King of the Mountain points are barely six kilometres from the final finish line.”
In addition to the professional races, the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride will give amateur cyclists the chance to ride many of the roads ridden by the pros in a newly designed sportive route, which will start and finish in Scarborough on Sunday 1 May. The sportive route will follow parts of Stage 3 of the men’s race whilst also taking in several alternative roads to allow for all 6000 participants to finish in their own time.
A highlight of the sportive will see amateur riders finishing with a 1km sea-front sprint finish and crossing the very same finish line as the professional riders with the same support from the waiting crowds. There will be three distances for riders to choose from; 40km, 85km and 115km. The sportive sold out in a matter of hours in 2015 and those hoping to secure a place in the 2016 ride can register their interest and be first to hear when this year’s event opens at letouryorkshire.com/sportive
Returning sponsors for the men’s race have also been confirmed, with Yorkshire Bank sponsoring the Sprint Jersey; Dimension Data sponsoring the Digital Vote / Most Aggressive Rider Jersey; and Mavic returning as the Official Supplier. Yorkshire Bank also sponsor the Tour de France legacy project – the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries – which have already helped over a thousand children in Yorkshire ride a bike for free.
So, here you have it, your full 2016 route for @letouryorkshire. It’s going to be epic. #TDYpic.twitter.com/y7sjftv5FO
Detailed stage profiles
Stage 1: Friday 29 April 2016: Beverley to Settle
Total stage length: 184km
2 x sprint points (Bubwith, Giggleswick)
1 x King of the Mountain (Greenhow Hill)
Total ascent: 1832m
The first stage will set off from Saturday Market in Beverley. The riders will parade around the town – which also played host to the race in 2015, then through North Bar before heading north west to the Official Start at Beverley Racecourse; Holme on the Wolds, Market Weighton (which also saw the race pass through in May 2015), and on westwards to a sprint point at Bubwith. From there, the peloton will race through North Duffield and west to Cawood – scene of Dick Turpin’s famous escape from York – and on to Tadcaster, famous for its breweries. After that, riders will visit Boston Spa, Wetherby, North Deighton and Knaresborough, home of the famous ‘spotty house’ from the Tour de France, decorated with the red spots of the King of the Mountains’ jersey. From there riders will travel to Ripley, home of the UK’s only Hotel du Ville rather than Town Hall, and on to Pateley Bridge where the first King of the Mountain will be won at Greenhow Hill. After that, it’s on to Grassington, then Threshfield and a return to some of the Tour de France roads, through Cracoe then Gargrave, the riders will then cross the finish line in Settle for the first time before a sprint at Giggleswick. They will complete a 12km loop back to the A65 and round to Settle town centre for an expected bunch finish in the town.
Stage 2: Saturday 30 April 2016: Otley to Doncaster
Total stage length: 135.5km
Same route for men and women
2 x sprint points (Scholes, Warmsworth)
3 x King/ Queen of the Mountain (Harewood Bank, East Rigton, Conisbrough Castle)
Total ascent: 1110m
Stage Two marks an important milestone for the Tour de Yorkshire, as the women’s race will be held on exactly the same route as the men’s race. The women’s race will start in the morning and the men’s race will begin in the early afternoon. Full details of the women’s race will be released in the following weeks.
The Women’s Tour de Yorkshire race will be a full stage race, on 30 April, using the same course as Stage 2 #TDYpic.twitter.com/MKmgVL7Dw4
The route begins in Otley, home town of current women’s road World Champion Lizzie Armitstead. The Official Start is at Pool-in-Wharfedale, before the riders face an early King/ Queen of the Mountain challenge at Harewood Bank, before heading south east towards another King/ Queen of the Mountain at East Rigton, then to Thorner and a sprint at Scholes, then to Barwick in Elmet crossing the A1 at Aberford. Riders then go past Lotherton Hall, into Sherburn in Elmet, down to South Milford and Monk Fryston before swinging south to Birkin and Beal. The route then heads through Kellingley and on to Knottingley, Pontefract (home of liquorice) and Wentbridge, before North and South Elmsall, and on to hidden gem Hooton Pagnell. There is a sprint point at Warmsworth before a lap of, and King/ Queen of the Mountain, at 11th century Conisbrough Castle. The peloton will then head towards Tickhill and Bawtry before racing along the perimeter of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, past Doncaster Racecourse and onto a sprint finish on South Parade.
Stage 3: Sunday 1 May 2016: Middlesbrough to Scarborough
Total stage length: 196km
2 x sprint points (Thirsk and Whitby Abbey)
6 x King of the Mountain (Sutton Bank, Blakey Ridge, Grosmont, Robin Hood’s Bay, Harwood Dale and Oliver’s Mount)
Total ascent: 2593m
If Stages One and Two are for the sprinters, Stage Three will certainly appeal to the climbers. With an elevation of 2593 meters and six King of the Mountain classifications, the route begins in Middlesbrough, birth place of Captain James Cook, and takes the riders on a challenging and technical route through much of the stunning North York Moors National Park. From the start line at Middlesbrough’s MIMA Gallery, they travel south over the Official Start on the outskirts of Nunthorpe on the A172, through Great Ayton, home of the Captain Cook School Room, and on to Stokesley, Hutton Rudby, Winton and down to Northallerton, the county town of North Yorkshire. From there, the riders head to Thirsk’s market square where there will be a sprint point, before the infamous Sutton Bank and a King of the Mountain. Onwards to Helmsley, winner of Britain’s Best Market Town, then to Kirkbymoorside and heading north to Hutton le Hole and a King of the Mountain at Blakey Ridge. The peloton will recognise Castleton and many of the villages towards Whitby as the route is similar to that for the 2015 race. There will be a King of the Mountain at Grosmont, where in 2015 riders were welcomed by a steam salute by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and riders will pass through Sleights and Ruswarp before dipping down to Whitby. There is a sprint point at Whitby Abbey, before the race makes a visit to Hawkser. Next up is a battle over a King of the Mountain at Robin Hood’s Bay, before another King of the Mountain at Harwood Dale. From there it’s full speed to East Ayton and Irton, before a final King of the Mountain at Oliver’s Mount and a sprint finish in Scarborough’s North Bay.
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In total, there are eight British women’s teams:
In full, the men’s teams are:
“Today is a hugely significant milestone for women’s racing. We’ve come good on our promise to expand the women’s race and rather than rest at bringing parity in terms of the men’s route and broadcast coverage, we’ve gone further to offer the world’s most lucrative prize fund. 
I spoke to Heather shortly after she got the news and asked how she felt, “Wow! I’m blown away, it’s great to know so many people support and value what you do. It’s a tough shortlist, but if it helps raise the profile of women’s cycling and the work of my charity; The Racing Chance Foundation, what more would I want? Thank you to everyone to voted for me, I am humbled.”
The Tour de Yorkshire, one of the most spectacular and well received events in the British sporting calendar, returns for a second year with new routes and new challenges. The huge crowds will be entertained by Race Ambassadors and a Tour de Yorkshire Caravan which will visit key points on the route before the race starts.
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