The men’s and women’s 2018 Tour de Yorkshire races take to the roads this weekend - with some of road cycling’s biggest names set to compete.
The Tour de Yorkshire is a multiple stage road race that builds on the legacy of the 2014 Tour de France, which passed through Yorkshire during the first two stages of the race.
The Tour is now entering its fourth year, with the men’s race taking place over four stages between 3 - 6 May and the women’s race being held over 2 stages on 3 - 4 May.
Men’s race
The men’s Great Britain Cycling Team has named a strong seven-man group to tackle the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire.
Yorkshiremen Ben Swift and Tom Pidcock will represent their country in their home county this weekend, with both looking to follow up on strong results in the past 12 months.
Pidcock claimed two junior world titles in 2017 and started 2018 in fine form, winning the East Cleveland Klondike at the HSBC UK | Spring Cup Series last weekend.
Swift placed fifth in the 2017 UCI Road World Championships road race and is joined by a young, in-form team of riders including Gabriel Cullaigh - who will be looking to build on his recent victory in last month’s CiCLE Classic.
Women’s race
Fresh from her bronze medal-winning performance at the Commonwealth Games last month, Dani Rowe will represent the women’s team alongside fellow Gold Coast competitors Ellie Dickinson and Megan Barker.
Senior Academy riders Abigail Dentus and Rhona Callander join Senior Squad mountain bike rider Emily Wadsworth to complete what is a youthful and talented Great Britain Cycling Team cohort.
The competition
The biggest name in this year’s men’s race is Mark Cavendish - making his comeback after an injury lay-off dating back to Milan-San Remo in March. The prolific grand tour stage-winner and 2011 UCI World Road World Championships road race winner represents Team Dimension Data as he looks to add Tour de Yorkshire stages to his extensive resume.
Rio track gold medallist Owain Doull, and the experienced Ian Stannard help to make up a strong British contingent representing Team Sky, whilst last year’s Tour de Yorkshire champion Serge Pauwels, Olympic road champion Greg Van Avermaet and multiple-time Tour de France stage winner Sylvain Chavanel will all compete in a star-studded, international field.
Olympic team pursuit winner and multiple-time track world champion, Katie Archibald is set to compete for her team Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling.
This season’s in-form rider is another Olympic champion - Anna van der Breggen. Having won the Tour of Flanders, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege already this season, Van der Breggen will be one of the favourites for the overall classification victory.
The route
Men’s race:
Stage one: Thursday 3 May
Beverley - Doncaster (182km)
Stage two: Friday 4 May
Barnsley - Ilkley (149km)
Stage three: Saturday 5 May
Richmond - Scarborough (181km)
Stage four: Sunday 6 May
Halifax - Leeds (189.5km)
Women’s race:
Stage one: Thursday 3 May
Beverley - Doncaster (132.5km)
Stage two: Friday 4 May
Barnsley - Ilkley (128km)
The schedule
Thursday 3 May
8:40am - Women’s race stage one
1:50pm - Men’s race stage one
Friday 4 May
9:00am - Women’s race stage two
2:20pm - Men’s race stage two
Saturday 5 May
1:10pm - Men’s race stage three
Sunday 6 May
12:10pm - Men’s race stage four
How to follow
- Full report, images and reaction will appear on the British Cycling website
- Follow @BritishCycling and @LeTourYorkshire on Twitter for updates
- Watch all races live on ITV4 - with full highlights of each stage each evening
