Tour de Yorkshire: Changes made to the race as the four week countdown begins

With just under four weeks to go until this popular cycling race returns to the white rose county, excitement is beginning to build and preparations are busily underway.
The Tour de Yorkshire will return to the white rose county this MayThe Tour de Yorkshire will return to the white rose county this May
The Tour de Yorkshire will return to the white rose county this May

The fourth edition of the men’s race has now been expanded from three to four stages and will take place between May 3-6.

The women’s race has also been expanded and will take place across two days on May 3-4.

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This cycling competition is spread out over all four corners of the county, with cyclists going through 169 villages, towns and cities.

The city of Leeds will host the grand finale on May 6, with a spectacular conclusion on The Headrow in the exact same spot where the Tour de France began in 2014.

The race organisers, Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO, have now released the timings, which have been calculated by anticipating the peloton’s average speed, however these are subject to change depending on elements such as wind speed, direction and how aggressively the riders race.

The women’s race

The second stage of the women’s race will be 77.1 miles long and will commence in Barnsley at 09:00. This stage will follow the exact same route as the men’s race from Worsbrough at 09:10.

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Riders will tackle the Côte de Blacker Hill and the first intermediate sprint which will take place in Swinton. After that there will be a second sprint in Scholes before the Old Pool Bank climb and then the winner of the race will be crowned at the Cow and Calf just after 12.30pm.

The men’s race

The newly added fourth stage of the men’s race will take place on Sunday May 6, from Halifax to Leeds and will be 117.7 miles long.

The Piece Hall in Halifax is the starting location for this stage of the race, before the competitors go on to race up the cobbled Main Street in Haworth , then crossing from Brontë Country into Craven.

This route then goes through Skipton, Barden Moor and the Dales before making a return to the Côte de Greenhow Hill. The cyclists will then pass through Otley where a climb at Otley Chevin will take place.

The race will then pass Kirkstall Abbey just before 16:50 before the riders sweep into Leeds for an exciting conclusion on The Headrow, where the winner is expected be crowned just after 17:10.