Rotherham misses out on Tour de Yorkshire 2018

Welcome to Yorkshire bosses announced the eight start and finish locations for each stage of the Tour de Yorkshire 2018 at a press conference today — and once again Rotherham missed out.

Barnsley, Beverley, Doncaster, Halifax, Ilkley, Leeds, Richmond and Scarborough were confirmed as the eight start and finish locations for next year’s race, which runs from May 3 to 8.

Speaking after announcing the towns, Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Commiserations to those of you who missed out this year — we can’t get to everywhere but we will get to you eventually.”

The announcement takes the number of major cycle races Rotherham has missed out on to six — the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014, four Tour de Yorkshires and the UCI World Road Race Championships in 2019 — all bypassed the town.

Rotherham Wheelers’ plans for a town centre cycle race over the August bank holiday weekend — which could have brought in as much as £200,000 to the struggling economy — were also punctured due to spiralling costs.

The full Tour de Yorkshire 2018 route will be unveiled at a press conference in December.