06/05/2009

Tourism in York and the region was given another shot in the arm yesterday. Ninety six of the world's top cyclists will descend on York this September, when the city hosts the finish of the first stage of the 2009 Tour of Britain. Sweetspot, organisers of the UK's most prestigious cycle race announced the route yesterday at the London Transport Museum. The 2009 Tour of Britain will take place over eight days beginning in Scunthorpe on Saturday 12th September. Riders will cycle over the finish line of the first stage in York and the eight day race will finish in the heart of London on Saturday 19th September.

Visit York and the City of York Council, with support from Yorkshire Forward, have been in discussions with the organizers for several months and are delighted to have secured this respected event for York.

This year, The Tour of Britain will visit a total of fourteen venues, some of which will be old favourites of the race such as London and Dumfries and Galloway, while others such as York are new additions to The Tour of Britain.

"This year's event sees The Tour of Britain race into seven new regional venues, and for the first time ever we will have two stages take place in the South West region which will take in both Devon and Somerset," said Michael Bennett, Technical Director of The Tour of Britain. "On the way from the Grand Depart to the final stage in London, riders will face and experience every kind of challenge that the UK's countryside has to offer, while taking in some breathtaking views of our wonderful country."

Gillian Cruddas, Chief Executive of Visit York, said, 'This is a fantastic coup for York and Yorkshire providing an opportunity to showcase the region to an international audience - including participants, spectators and those watching the media coverage of the race from across the world. It's also a great opportunity to demonstrate, as we did with Royal Ascot, York's expertise in hosting large sporting events. Working with our partners in the City of York Council and Yorkshire Forward, we aim to ensure that this event, combined with York's new cycling city status will help to put York on the cycle map.'

Councillor Andrew Waller, said ‘It's great news for the city, and a tribute to the team who have worked to secure York as a location for this event. The Tour of Britain is an excellent opportunity to build on the work that we are doing to encourage cycling in York, and further promote York as a top visitor destination.'

A regional launch of The Tour of Britain will take place in York on Saturday 20th June, specially planned to coincide with the ever popular CTC Cycle Rally in York (20th and 21st June), when thousands of cycling enthusiasts flock to the city annually.

The finish of the first stage in York is expected to attract between ten and twenty five thousand spectators, generating hundred thousands of pounds worth of revenue for the city and region. Visit York will be working closely with its partners, Welcome to Yorkshire and tourism officials in North Lincolnshire to persuade visitors to stay longer and explore the region further. On top of this the value of ITV4's estimated eight hours of media coverage will add further value.

Neil Jenkinson, Assistant Director of Culture and Major Events at Yorkshire Forward commented; ‘I am delighted that Yorkshire and Humber is to play host to start of The Tour of Britain race in 2009 - an accolade that clearly demonstrates how far our region has come in positioning itself as a prime location for hosting major cultural and sporting events. We are keen to work with new partners from both the public and private sector in delivering another great race for our region and showcase all that Yorkshire and Humber has to offer for cyclists, tourists and investors alike.'

Ninety six of the world's top cyclists will once again be taking on the challenge of The Tour of Britain in 2009, with a route designed to deliver a worthy overall winner to join the ranks of previous yellow jerseys such as Geoffroy Lequatre, Romain Feillu and Nick Nuyens.

The 2009 Route
The Tour of Britain 2009, which will begin with a Grand Depart in Scunthorpe for the first stage, which finishes in York, will see a combination of familiar venues and regions, as well as new exciting additions to the route.

Subsequent stages will re-visit the North East as The Tour once again travels from Darlington to NewcastleGateshead on Stage Two, while Stage Three will see the northern most point of the race, as The Tour heads to Scotland and takes in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. This is the first time The Tour of Britain will be visiting this iconic region of Scotland.

The Tour of Britain then heads south, with Stage Four featuring the North West of England and Blackpool, with Stage Five both starting and finishing in Stoke-on-Trent, via a hard day's racing through the scenic North Staffordshire countryside, including the infamous Gun Hill.

The South West has two stages in 2009, with Stage Six taking the riders across Exmoor as the pass from Somerset into Devon, on their journey from Frome to Bideford. The penultimate day of the race then sees the peloton retrace its steps, from Hatherleigh in Devon to Yeovil in Somerset, on a gruelling stage that could decide the winner of this year's race.

A spectacular final day of racing will round out the 2009 Tour, as riders tackle the iconic London circuit that opened last year's race which takes in the Houses of Parliament, Victoria Embankments, The Tower of London, and starts and finishes on Whitehall.

The Prostate Cancer Charity Partnership
The Prostate Cancer Charity is a proud and exclusive charity partner of The Tour of Britain. This partnership is a key element of a brand new initiative, ‘Unite ByCycling', which has been set up to raise awareness of prostate cancer, as well as generate funds to enable the Charity to improve the lives of men affected by the disease, and their families.

John Neate, Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "This partnership represents a really exciting new chapter in the life of the Charity and a great opportunity for us to raise awareness and funds and gain support on a local and national level. The Charity is excited to be involved with the fast growing sport of cycling and the UK's premier cycle event. We are also working with The Tour of Britain to announce two further mass participation events in the coming weeks. These events are designed to appeal to all levels of competitiveness, endurance and those just wanting fun and to be a part of The Tour of Britain experience."

Daily ITV coverage
For the second year running full coverage of the race will be televised on ITV, with viewers able to enjoy an hour long nightly highlights show of all the action on ITV4, between 7pm - 8pm, with repeats the following day.

New Website
In a bid to keep cycling enthusiasts around the world up-to-date with information direct from The Tour of Britain, the organisation has revamped its website to a more current look and feel. The new look website will be much clearer for users to navigate, making it easier to find out all there is to know about the country's biggest professional cycle race. One new addition to the website will be rider tracking whereby users will be able to track riders live from the race.

The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with The Prostate Cancer Charity. ENDS

For more information, please contact Kay Hyde, PR Manager, Visit York,
Tel: 01904 554451, email: kh@visityork.org

Notes to the Editor:

For more information on The Tour of Britain 2009, please visit: www.tourofbritain.co.uk
The Tour of Britain is supported by Yorkshire Forward and its presence in York will be co-ordinated by the City of York Council and marketed by Visit York.

Official Partners & Suppliers
Official partners for this year's Tour of Britain include The Prostate Cancer Charity, Transport for London, Ordnance Survey, Honda, and Birmingham Midshires.
The official suppliers for this year's event include Canon, Soreen, Mule Bar, For Goodness Shakes!, Impsport, Satmap, as well as The AA.

The Prostate Cancer Charity
‘Unite ByCycling' will feature a range of cycling events, involving both professional cyclists and the general public. The activity is focussed around the UK's premier professional cycling events, The Tour of Britain and The Tour Series and will extend to events that amateurs and cyclists of all abilities can enter, all with one goal in mind: to unite people through cycling and raise awareness of prostate cancer. For more information and to pre-register, please visit: www.unitebicycling.org.uk

The Prostate Cancer Charity is the UK's leading charity working with people affected by prostate cancer. It funds research, provides support and information, and campaigns to improve the lives of men with prostate cancer.

SweetSpot Group Ltd
SweetSpot Group Ltd is the company behind the successful revival of The Tour of Britain, re-launching the event in 2004 after a five-year absence from the calendar. SweetSpot is a sports marketing and events company specialising in the creation and execution of high quality, commercially successful, annual sporting events.

As well as The Tour of Britain, SweetSpot was responsible for facilitating the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in London 2007 and provided logistical support for Honda's Earth Dreams Tour. For more information, please visit: www.sweetspotgroup.co.uk