Suspicious Minds? Not at all, as Bridlington (and Elvis impersonators) fall in love with the Tour de Yorkshire

The East Yorkshire coastal resort of Bridlington was awash in yellow and blue this morning as the first ever edition of the Tour de Yorkshire got under way.

The race, organised jointly by Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO, owners of the Tour de France, aims to build on the legacy of last year’s “Grandest of Grand Départs” of cycling’s biggest race.

The East Riding, as well as the Yorkshire coast, missed out last year, but today locals fully embraced the race, with a vibrant atmosphere building ahead of the start.

From schoolchildren to pensioners, they turned out in their thousands to watch some of the world’s top cyclists – the biggest draw, without a doubt, being Sir Bradley Wiggins – as they began the three day race.

Improbably, the start of the race also coincided with a massive Elvis impersonator contest on the seafront – if only Wiggins had stuck with the sideburns rather than grow the beard, he may have had a decent chance, judging by some of the ‘lookalikes’ we saw today.

Only one of the locals we spoke to had a beef (if you’ll forgive the expression) about the race – with Yorkshire having fallen in love with all things French over the past couple of years, he was a bit miffed to see ‘Pudding de Yorkshire’ cropping up on pub menus.

Enjoy the gallery above of a memorable morning in Yorkshire that opens a new chapter in the history of cycling in the UK.