Plan ahead and have a great Tour … that’s the message to people in Harrogate borough as details are announced of which roads will be affected by the second Tour de Yorkshire cycle race. The aim is to keep disruption to a minimum and ensure all road users are kept safe.
Stage 1 of the race, on Friday 29 April, will see the riders depart Beverley at noon, entering Harrogate borough at North Deighton at about 2.10pm. They will travel a route taking in Knaresborough, Ripley and Pateley Bridge before ending the day’s racing in Settle at about 4.25pm.
Most of the road closures throughout both stages will be rolling closures. Roads will be closed about 20 to 30 minutes before the race. They will reopen as soon as the race has passed. The last race vehicle will be clearly identified.
However, some longer closures will be needed at key points along the route.
Greenhow Hill
As the only king of the mountain point on stage 1, Greenhow Hill is likely to be a popular location for spectators. Greenhow Hill will be closed to motor vehicles from noon to 5pm between the Royal Oak pub in Pateley Bridge and Greenhow village. Peat Lane will also be closed during this time. A signed diversion for through traffic will be in place between Grassington and Pateley Bridge via the A59, and between Greenhow and Pateley Bridge via Duck Lane and the A59.
Additional car parking is available at the Nidderdale Showground, where there will also be a big screen on which to watch the race.
Closures may be lengthened for safety reasons on the day.
Safety for riders and spectators is paramount, so vehicles should not be parked on the race route. Details of car parking arrangements are available at www.northyorks.gov.uk/tour
County Cllr Carl Les, Leader of North Yorkshire County Council said:
This is a fantastic event which builds on last year’s Tour de Yorkshire, and once again the benefits to North Yorkshire will be enormous, both in the immediate term and the longer term,”
We want to make sure that everything is in place to make it a huge success and ensure the race passes off smoothly for everyone – the competitors, the spectators, and all other residents and highways users. We are doing all we can to make sure that it is successful and that as far as possible disruption for everyone who needs to use our roads over the weekend of the 29 April to 1 May is kept to a minimum.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:
The Tour de Yorkshire will showcase Yorkshire’s stunning scenery and deliver an excellent sporting event that will bring the whole of the county together.
Once again, North Yorkshire County Council has thoroughly embraced the opportunity of hosting a world class cycling race on its roads and will play an important part in keeping both the riders and spectators safe along the route.
