Scarborough back as 2017 Tour de Yorkshire host locations named

The 2017 Tour de Yorkshire will be returning to Scarborough – making the North Yorkshire seaside resort the only town to have hosted a stage start or finish in all three editions of the race.

There’s also a return for Bridlington, which hosted the beginning of the first stage of the inaugural edition in 2015 – with the start line right outside Bridlington Spa, where the Elvis Weekender festival was taking place.

First-time Tour de Yorkshire stage start or finish locations will be Bradford, Tadcaster and – in the places that saw the finish of the opening two stages of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart – Harrogate and Sheffield Fox Valley.

Scarborough provided the finish for the opening stage of the 2015 Tour de Yorkshire, organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO to provide a legacy event to the 2014 Grand Depart, with the finale of the stage taking in Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Yorkshire coast.

This year, the town was the finish of the third and final stage of the race, and in both cases the winner of the Scarborough stage also won the overall – Team Sky’s Lars Petter Nordhaug in 2015, and Direct Energie’s Thomas Voeckler last May.

As before, part of the route of the Saturday stage of next year’s race will also provide the parcours for the Women’s Tour de Yorkshire.

Next year’s race takes place from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 April, and follows the news earlier this month that Yorkshire will be hosting the UCI Road World Championships in 2019.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “In just two years the Tour de Yorkshire has become one of the biggest and best races on the professional cycling calendar.

“Riders are overwhelmed by the support they receive on the roadside and the racing is among the most exciting you will see all season.

“The third edition will continue that progression and the attention it receives will be greater than ever given that we have just succeeded in bringing the UCI Road World Championships to the county in 2019.

“The world’s best cyclists will be using the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire as a first dress rehearsal for that and we’re planning a course that will challenge and impress them in equal measure,” he added.

I’m delighted the race will visit all four corners of the county and all six host towns will put on a brilliant show.”

Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme said: “The Tour de Yorkshire has done itself proud in building a lasting and hugely-successful legacy on the back of the 2014 Grand Départ.

“The race is a true success story and we are thrilled to be working in partnership with such a great team at Welcome to Yorkshire. We’re looking forward to another fantastic edition in 2017.”

Full details of next April’s race will be unveiled in December and the race will also be accompanied by the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride sportive.