Tour de Yorkshire postponed to 2022 due to Covid-19 pandemic

Already cancelled in May of this year due to sport and society being in lockdown, organisers Welcome to Yorkshire had hoped to bring the race back in May, 2021.

But on Wednesday they announced the event will be postponed for a further year, until 2022.

The tourism agency say it was a difficult decision reached in consultation with co-organisers Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) in France and local authority partners.

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason said: “During these uncertain times Welcome to Yorkshire need to focus on the immediate needs of the industry without committing both financial and human resources towards any activity or event that we cannot be certain of.

“Cycling has become synonymous with Yorkshire and the Tour de Yorkshire has become a firm fixture on the world cycling calendar due to the reception the riders and teams receive in our county.

“Whilst it is very disappointing that we will be bereft of this wonderful race for another year the decision we have made is the right one and perhaps the only one we could make.

“The uncertainty in front of us meant it was impossible to plan or commit the resource that the race needs.

“This has been a mutual decision made by Welcome to Yorkshire and the ASO and we will all now look forward to putting all our energies into bringing the race back bigger and better than ever in 2022.”

The sixth edition of the race, initially scheduled for April 30 to May 3, 2020, was the final one of the initial contract between Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO.

Since taking the reins of the tourism agency, Mason has stressed that the Tour de Yorkshire would need to prove it is economically viable to proceed but had shown an eagerness to keep the race alive due to the tourism opportunities it presents for the county.

Yann Le Moenner, the Director General of ASO said: “We fully understand Welcome to Yorkshire’s position and are totally associated with this joint decision.

“We have worked a lot together since the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2014 to put the Tour de Yorkshire at the top of the international cycling calendar.

“This work is obviously not wasted and we will collectively do our best to relaunch the event in 2022 and give the chance to the world’s best riders to be on the Yorkshire roads in front of one of the most enthusiastic audiences the cycling world has ever seen.”