Harewood House and its estate are big – one thousand acres big – and when the Tour de France rolls into town on Saturday July 5, it will play host to a fittingly big party too.
Everybody is familiar with music festivals, from Glastonbury to Reading, Leeds to Hyde Park, and many more in between.
But sports festivals – and cycling festivals in particular – are becoming increasingly popular, and the arrival of cycling’s greatest race to these shores should set the scene for the greatest celebration of all things cycling yet.
As venues go, Harewood House might be perfect. Its grounds are vast, and the driveway added more than a pound to my taxi fare when I paid a visit earlier this month to check out the venue and chat to Oscar Pereiro.
Even the Spaniard, crowned winner of the 2006 Tour de France following the disqualification of Floyd Landis, was impressed, telling me: “This is a big event. The house and grounds are perfect for a big, big party.”
Of all the possible viewing points for the Tour de France Grand Départ though, why should you choose Harewood House and the Dare 2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling?
The driveway will offer a key vantage point as the peloton races down the driveway bound for Otley and ultimately Harrogate, and the festival offers the chance the driveway will offer the opportunity for a close-up view of the peloton and the chance to cheer Mark Cavendish and co on their way through.
Organisers are determined to offer more than a vantage point, however. Guided rides through the picturesque, rolling countryside of North Yorkshire are planned, while off-road riding – of which there are numerous suitable locations – is also available.
And then there is the festival itself – camping among thousands of like-minded cycling fans, from all quarters, with expos, cycling talks and live screening of the Tour.
Let’s be clear about one thing – the arrival of the Tour de France is not your every day event and there is already a buzz about the Yorkshire cycling community which is sure to grow and grow.
Dare 2b’s Oli Broom said: “It’s going to be a fantastic venue, and with the Tour de France going up the front drive it’s going to be phenomenal.”
Phenomenal is an apt description. When Bradley Wiggins was storming to the yellow jersey in 2012, and later to an Olympic gold medal in the men’s time trial, the nation was gripped by cycling fever. Similar levels of enthusiasm were inspired by Chris Froome’s heroics on Mont Ventoux last summer and his triumphant ride into Paris to deliver a second British victory in consecutive years in the biggest bike race in the world.
Perhaps more significant, however, has been the phenomenal scale of support shown for the Tour of Britain in both years, and for 2013’s inaugural RideLondon-Surrey Classic. Crowds turned out in their hundreds of thousands for each to cheer cyclists on British roads. Little wonder then that the ASO has rushed the Tour back to Britain just seven years after the Grand Départ of 2007.
When the Tour de France arrives in July, excitement is likely to increase ten-fold, so why follow it alone? Why not join thousands of fans to share in the momentous occasion that is the visit to these shores of the world’s biggest annual sporting event?
Those in the finish town of Harrogate believe the locals do not know what it heading their way, but just a few miles at Harewood House they certainly do – and they are ready to embrace it.
A party is bound for North Yorkshire, not least at the Dare2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling. Whether its joining the thousands of fans at the roadside, heading to one of the start or finish towns, or attending an event like the festival at Harewood House, in our opinion, you’d be crazy to miss out.
For more information visit www.festivalofcycling.org
