Tour de Yorkshire organisers agree to re-route race through Doncaster village

Sprotbrough had initially missed out on staging the event which will come through Doncaster on April 30.

But now, after coming under pressure from residents, organisers of the cycling extravaganza have announced that the race will take in Sprotbrough after all.

Olympic and commonwealth games cyclist John Tanner who lives in the village, was among those backing the campaign.

He said: “Its great that the route will now come straight through Sprotbrough. There are some fantastic roads for sprints and the hairpin bends will be a great addition for the competition. It will make the race overall more exciting. I just wish I was a bit younger so I could compete.”

The route will take in Main Street, through the heart of the village, down Boat Lane, through Sprotbrough Falls and on up to Warmsworth.

After seeing on the Tour De Yorkshire website that the route would miss out the heart of the village, residents sprung in to action contacting the event organisers and putting their case forward for why the route would be better to come Sprotbrough.

Paul Hall, the owner of Sprotbrough Country Club was one of the residents who spearheaded the efforts and said: “Sprotbrough is a great village with a great community spirit. I couldn’t believe the race was going to pass us by. Now the route has been changed we will be holding a huge community gala on Main Street and New Lane Park for residents and visitors. There will be live bands, entertainment, stalls, food and drinks.”

The race will arrive in Sprotbrough at around 12.30/1 for the women's race and will see the men arrive at around 3.30/4 on April 30.

John competed at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and has won the season long British Cycling Premier Calendar five times. He has also competed in and won the Archer Grand Prix twice.