Tour de Yorkshire 2016
Settle, host market town for the final stage of day one of the Tour de Yorkshire Cycle race on Friday 29th April certainly goes down as a fantastic day. Not just for the professional cyclists (opps sorry Sir Bradley Wiggins who abandoned during the race after being involved in a crash early on in the race) also the local community, visitors and tourists alike. Not forgetting the organisers both from France, Welcome to Yorkshire and Craven Council
Despite not having the best weather (there was a nip in the air and the light rain did depart later on) with the sun making an appearance later on in the day! It was an amazing atmosphere around the town we went to the Festival site early on to see various stalls and stunt bikes and the brass band of Giggleswick. The giant screen was showing the whole race that started from Beverley 5 hours or so before the race arrived in Settle. The group of riders arrived from the south off the A65 around 4.30pm, a little later than planned due to a strong head wind they had cycled against for the previous 115miles!
Below are our pictures that show what the day Settle did to host a major cycling event.
Unfortunately the best images were taken from the TV Helicopter footage. Spectacular views of the town and going up Buckhaw Brow on the 7.5mile circuit before re-entering the town for the final spirit were breathtaking. If you missed it or want to see – you will find it on ITV4 catch-up. This was a great advertisement for Settle and the Yorkshire Dales, we are sure it will be a great legacy for the town and area. Here are a few comments taken from the national press
Yorkshire is “fast becoming the heartland of cycling” & “The Tour de Yorkshire is on the podium for being one of the best bike races in the world and for me the best public for cycling in the world.” according to Christian Prudhomme director of the Tour de France.
The overall winner of the Tour de Yorkshire (and regular Tour de France competitor) Frenchman Thomas Voeckler said the crowd “makes me want to come back next year”.
