Mark Cavendish is backing a bid to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire, according to a member of the bid’s organizing committee who will meet race organisers, the ASO, in May.
Peter Dodd, marketing director for Welcome To Yorkshire, told RoadCyclingUK that Cavendish had family in Harrogate and was supporting “Le Bid” – an attempt to bring a stage of the 2016 race to the county.
Team Sky’s Ben Swift, and British road race legend, 81-year-old Brian Robinson, the first British rider to finish the Tour de France, were also on board, said Dodd.
“The Tour de France is the world’s biggest sporting event. We’re never going to get the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and we don’t have a football stadium capable of hosting the Champions’ League final. But we do have the countryside, the scenery, the iconic landscape you see when you watch the Tour de France. It’s about falling in love with Yorkshire, with the county, a part of England that has challenging roads and routes.”
He added that while it was too soon to suggest a route to the ASO, possible routes could include Harrogate, the Yorkshire Dales, and routes to the coast.
Welcome To Yorkshire was forbidden from revealing the identities of the ASO’s delegation, he said, but confirmed that the visit would take place in mid-May. London’s successful hosting of the prologue time trial and stage one of the 2007 Tour would boost the bid, he said.
“London and the South East did such a good job for Britain in hosting this major event. It shows we have the ability to host a successful bid.”
Click here to back Le Bid.
