Date: 14/12/2012
Ref: PR 3944

Wakefield Council Leader Cllr Peter Box CBE welcomes this morning’s announcement that the Tour de France will be coming to Yorkshire.

Earlier this year Welcome to Yorkshire made an official bid to host the greatest cycling race in the world, the Tour de France.

The Tour de France will start on 5 & 6 July 2014 bringing millions of fans to the Yorkshire roadside to cheer on the champions of the sport.

Wakefield Council supported Welcome to Yorkshire to bring the world’s largest annual sporting event to the region and provide the local economy with a multi-million pound boost.

Cllr Box, a member of the Welcome to Yorkshire Board, said: “This is great news for the region, The Tour de France will bring a huge boost to the local economy and will set Yorkshire on the global map.

“We have got a lot to offer in Yorkshire and this is an excellent platform to showcase what’s best about the whole area.”

Chief Executive of Wakefield Council, Joanne Roney OBE, added: “Welcome to Yorkshire has worked hard to bring this prestigious event to Yorkshire and i would like to congratulate them. We will now work hard to ensure that this event leaves a lasting legacy across the district.”

The announcement that the Yorkshire bid had been successful was made by the race organisers in Paris today (Friday 14 December), with Yorkshire hosting the legendary cycling event won in 2012 by British star Bradley Wiggins.

The bid received the support of top British cyclists Mark Cavendish and Ben Swift and it will be the first time Le Tour has visited the north of England having previously only made visits to the south coast and the capital.