Yorkshire will host the 2019 UCI Road World Championships. Hosting the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ inspired this region of Northern England to deliver a wide range of cycling legacy projects, led by its destination management organisation Welcome to Yorkshire. With a clear vision to make “more people cycle more often” across the 22 Local Authorities of Yorkshire, the initiative “Cycle Yorkshire” was thus launched. Five objectives and a long-term strategy are fully endorsed by political leaders:
Annual budget is dedicated specifically to cycling, targeting events, infrastructure, training, education and tourism in the region. Numerous examples of the region’s commitment can be evidenced. For instance, in 2016 Yorkshire has opened the Superhighway “CityConnect Cycle”, a 23 km separated cycle lane between Leeds and Bradford where over 100,000 trips have been made in around one year. Welcome to Yorkshire has also launched 46 Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries which enable children to rent bikes free of charge and offer safe guided rides and courses to improve cycling skills and to teach bike maintenance. The aim is to give every child in Yorkshire access to a bike.
Yorkshire currently holds more mass participation and closed-road cycling events than any other region in the UK. In 2017, it hosted 40 amateur road races, 53 closed circuit races and 13 cyclo-cross events for competitors of all ages.