2022 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled

The 2022 Tour de Yorkshire bike race has been cancelled today.

Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and French company Amaury Sport Organisation issued a statement at 7pm tonight blaming covid and “escalating financial challenges and uncertainties” for making the event “unviable”.

The 2022 route was not due to include the Harrogate district but had financial implications for local people because North Yorkshire County Council agreed last month to give £200,000 of council taxpayers’ money to support the event.

It is not clear yet what will happen to that funding.

The Tour de Yorkshire was held annually from 2015 to 2019 following the success of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Départ, which ended in Harrogate. Covid scuppered it last year and this year.

Despite today’s decision, Welcome to Yorkshire said in tonight’s statement its “ambition to continue hosting international events is as strong as ever and this is the beginning of a whole new positive plan to showcase Yorkshire globally through dedicating time to varied and exciting opportunities”.

But there was no mention of the Tour de Yorkshire being resurrected in 2023, raising doubts about it happening again.

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James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, which is a marketing organisation for Yorkshire, said:

“We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons.

“People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those.”

Brian Facer, chief executive of British Cycling, said:

“Clearly this is very disappointing news for everyone who recognises the value the Tour de Yorkshire brings to the county and to cycling in Britain.

“This is not just about the economic boost that top level bike racing has brought to Yorkshire, but also in the huge numbers of people who have been inspired to cycle themselves.

“The local authorities in Yorkshire have done a fantastic job over recent years and deserve credit for trying to find a way forward.”

 

Race organisers ‘not prepared’ to cover Tour de Yorkshire losses

The company that owns the Tour de Yorkshire is “no longer prepared” to underwrite the event, according to a county council report.

A paper to be considered by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive on Tuesday next week says Amaury Sports Organisation, which is part of a French media group that owns and organises major sports events, would not cover the costs.

This has prompted the council to offer the tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire, which organises the Tour de Yorkshire in conjunction with Amaury Sports Organisation, up to £200,000 to stage the race.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s strategy to fund the elite international cycling event in May next year has emerged as it was revealed Yorkshire taxpayers are being asked to underwrite the event by up to £900,000.

Welcome to Yorkshire has requested funding from numerous local authorities which are host towns for the race in case it fails to get sponsorship.

Harrogate Borough Council is not one of them but Harrogate district people will still fund the event through the portion of their council tax payments that goes to North Yorkshire County Council.

Senior county councillors have been recommended to approve a payment of £100,000 to fund the event and to set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to secure sponsorship.

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Asked to comment about whether Amaury Sports Organisation should underwrite the event as it stood to make profits, Cllr Carl Les, leader of the county council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:

He said:

“You could argue that. Clearly Amaury Sports Organisation don’t want to do that. The alternative then is to not hold the race and, but bear in mind it is an important part of the cycling calendar and it can also serve as a great marketing tool for the areas it goes through, it is worth our while to continue with the race.”

Meanwhile, plans to overhaul the Tour de Yorkshire’s image by aligning the event with prevalent societal values, such as equality, diversity, mental health and sustainability, have received a mixed reaction.

Welcome to Yorkshire said that, following a very difficult two years for all involved, the race needed to be seen as a genuine celebration of Yorkshire as opposed to just a bike race.

This will mean a much longer lead into the race featuring events celebrating Yorkshire’s culture, heritage, arts, crafts, food and drink with the race being the headline act of “nine months of activation”.

Nevertheless, the sponsorship strategy of highlighting the event’s values, such as equality has already been questioned, with some critics highlighting how the event features a two-day race for women and a higher profile four-day race for men.

The unveiling of the proposals, which include aligning the Tour de Yorkshire with the value of diversity, comes just a week after Nic Diamini made headlines by becoming the first black South African to ride in the Tour de France, the pinnacle of what has been dubbed “the world’s whitest sport”.

Cllr Les, who is also a Welcome to Yorkshire board member, said the fresh approach to sponsorship along social value lines was “a very sound idea”.

However, councillor Stuart Parsons, leader of the authority’s Independent group, said staging a two-day women’s race and a four-day men’s event would “not promote equality in any way, shape or form”.