Following lengthy discussions between race organisers, Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) over many months, they have said it is with regret, that by mutual consent, the 2022 Tour de Yorkshire cycling race will not be going ahead.
They have cited the impact of the Covid-19 measures, combined with escalating financial challenges and uncertainties, have led to an agreed position that the event would be unviable in 2022.
Last year, planning for the 2020 race was in the final stages with all the host towns and cities having detailed plans in place. However, due to Covid-19 the race was postponed in late March 2020. Following discussions with A.S.O. and an assessment of the impact of lockdown and the likelihood of being able to hold the race, the 2021 race was also postponed. During this subsequent period Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O. have continued to discuss bringing the race back to Yorkshire as soon as it was to be deemed safe and viable to do so.
Welcome to Yorkshire would like to acknowledge the incredibly important and much appreciated ongoing support from their local authority partners, as well as the support of the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, and the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, together with A.S.O. and British Cycling.
Welcome to Yorkshire have said they can confirm that their ambition to continue hosting international events is as strong as ever and this is the beginning of a whole new positive plan to showcase Yorkshire globally through dedicating time to varied and exciting opportunities.
Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive James Mason said:
This has been an intense period of back and forth discussions about the 2022 Tour de Yorkshire over many months.
The race is a much-loved international sports event which showcases Yorkshire across the globe.
So many people involved in the decision making process understand just how popular the race is.
We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons.
People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those.
