Funding to stage one of British cycling’s biggest events will be discussed by councillors to help to promote North Yorkshire to a global audience and bring major economic benefits to the county.
Plans have been announced to bring a stage of the Lloyds Tour of Britain cycling race to the county later this year and then again in 2027.
Members of our executive will meet this month (May) to discuss allocating a total of £200,000 to fund the operational costs of hosting two stages of the showpiece sporting event.
Research by British Cycling has shown that the race brings a multi-million pound economic boost for regions that have previously hosted stages of the cycling race.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “We have a proud history and a proven track record of staging some of the world’s biggest cycling races and this is an opportunity to once again promote the county to a global audience.
“We will consider the proposals carefully when the executive meets and whether to allocate the funding to pay for our operational costs for hosting the two stages of the Tour of Britain.
“The economic benefit of bringing such a prestigious sporting event is considerable, and we would hope that everyone who attends in person or watches the race on television would see what a wonderful place North Yorkshire is to live, work and visit.”
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority decided at a meeting in March to host the two stages of the Tour of Britain in the county.
North Yorkshire has hosted major international cycling races over the past 12 years including the Tour de France’s Grand Depart in 2014 along with the Tour de Yorkshire and previous stages of both the men’s and women’s races of the Tour of Britain.
Discussions are under way with British Cycling, which organises the Tour of Britain, to pinpoint host locations and the route for the race, which is expected to remain within North Yorkshire.
It is understood that British Cycling is looking at proposed routes for this year’s race that are hilly to provide a challenging route for the riders and an entertaining sporting spectacle. The route design for the stage in 2027 is due to start early next year.
Officers from the council will be working closely with British Cycling to design the route to ensure that disruption to the wider transport network including both road and rail is minimised as much as possible whilst also ensuring the objectives of a challenging race route are met.
Research carried out by YouGov for British Cycling has shown that the four-stage women’s Tour of Britain and the six-stage men’s race were responsible for an economic impact totalling £33.3 million in 2024.
Event ‘tourists’ across both races spent a total of 174,000 nights in the local areas which hosted stages and spent significantly on food and drink, transport and local accommodation.
The visitor economy in North Yorkshire is worth more than £4 billion a year and supports more than 38,000 full-time jobs in the county.
The race is broadcast in more than 100 countries with free to air coverage planned in the UK. It is also hoped that hosting the Tour of Britain in North Yorkshire will act as a catalyst for community-based activities and instil a sense of civic pride in residents in their local areas.
According to a report that is due to be considered by the council’s executive on Tuesday, 12 May, the vast majority of the stages will be managed under rolling road closures which would typically be in place for less than 30 minutes.
The start and finish locations will need a range of requirements including public toilets, car parking and traffic management, refuse collection and bins, safety barriers, first aid provision for spectators and stewards.
Working with British Cycling and the combined authority, we are seeking to minimise the impact of the race route, where possible, to keep costs as low as possible.
The combined authority has confirmed that it will fund the £350,000 hosting fee for both stages and has allocated a further budget of £100,000 per race for operational costs.
However, there is a requirement for us to contribute to the operational costs, with a further £100,000 of funding per stage of the race requested.
Any additional costs above the proposed £200,000 in funding from us, which would be allocated from the local authority’s corporate reserves, would be requested to be met by the combined authority.
The report to the executive can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF here.