Tour de Yorkshire to miss out Rotherham — again

Organisers of next year’s Tour de Yorkshire has announced racing will begin or end in Bradford, Bridlington, Fox Valley, near Stocksbridge, Harrogate, Scarborough and Tadcaster.

Despite being one of the biggest towns in Yorkshire, it is the third time Rotherham has missed out on hosting a major cycling event since 2014.

The town was frustratingly bypassed by both the Tour de France’s Grand Depart in 2014 and the two previous Tour de Yorkshire’s, the latter coming closest when it went through Stainton and Tickhill earlier this year.

The races have been highly successful, not only on the racing front but also commercially.

Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) announced the chosen towns for the tree-day men’s race, which will run from Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30, and women’s race, which will be held on Saturday, April 29.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “In just two years the Tour de Yorkshire has become one of the biggest and best races on the professional racing calendar. Riders are overwhelmed by the support they receive on the roadside and the racing is amongst the most exciting you will see all season.”

The borough must now hope it is included on the route between the host cities and towns when it is announced in December.

It also hopes to host one of the stages of the Road World Championships when they are staged in the county in 2019.