Yorkshire councils have “dodged a hefty bill” with the cancellation of the Tour de Yorkshire 2022, a senior councillor has said.

Cllr Andy Solloway, who sits on North Yorkshire County Council, said he was not surprised the cycling race was cancelled for a third year in a row and that he believes councils would have had to fork out more cash to the organisers if it went ahead.

The county council backed the race with £100,000 and set aside a further £100,000 to underwrite any failure to gain sponsorship.

Co-organisers Welcome to Yorkshire also received the backing of other councils including Craven, Barnsley, Richmondshire, East Riding, and Redcar and Cleveland which agreed to underwrite the event by £100,000 to cover any sponsorship losses.

The extra funding came on top of the £100,000 each council in race start and finish locations had already agreed to.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Solloway said: 

“It seems to me that the Tour de Yorkshire’s unviability would have meant that local councils were in line for subsidising rather than underwriting as we were assured at the time, which was actually less than a couple of months ago.

“I think councils with their stretched funds may have dodged a hefty bill here.”

Disruption to people

Welcome to Yorkshire said the decision to cancel the event was made due to “financial challenges” and after “lengthy discussions” with co-organiser Amaury Sport Organisation.

Read more:

• 2022 Tour de Yorkshire cancelled
• Could Tour de Yorkshire money be spent on Festival of Yorkshire instead?

The race would have seen a four-day men’s event going from Beverley to Redcar, followed by Skipton to Leyburn, then Barnsley to Huddersfield and Halifax to Leeds.

A two-day women’s race was also planned for the middle two stages.

The cancellation comes after the 2020 and 2021 legs of the event were called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Solloway, who is also leader of the Independent group on Craven District Council, added: 

“While I think that there will be many disappointed, I also think that there are others that will take a different view and not relish the disruption.

“I am wondering if Welcome to Yorkshire knew that this was going to happen, but still pushed ahead with trying to get the councils on board.”

‘A line had to be drawn somewhere’

Councils which were approached by Welcome to Yorkshire to provide financial support but did not make any decisions included Leeds, Calderdale and Kirklees.

A spokesperson for the organisers said: 

“Welcome to Yorkshire’s commitment to the Tour de Yorkshire is in a facilitatory capacity to organise, plan and deliver the race.

“Funding has always come via a combination of local authorities paying for the right to host a start or a finish of a stage and commercial partners paying for sponsorship, engagement and branding opportunities.

“Welcome to Yorkshire has been transparent through the whole process with regards to the increased costs and delays in planning because of covid-19.

“Increasing commercial demands meant a line had to be drawn somewhere as it was becoming not viable despite how disappointing this may seem.”

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.

Read more:

• Funding for Tour de Yorkshire to be reviewed next year
• ‘We have a duty to support Tour de Yorkshire’

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.”