The Tour de Yorkshire, one of the most spectacular and well received events in the British sporting calendar, returns for a second year with new routes and new challenges. The huge crowds will be entertained by Race Ambassadors and a Tour de Yorkshire Caravan which will visit key points on the route before the race starts. The route will take the 18 teams of eight riders to all four corners of Yorkshire, linking together the county’s sporting, historic, industrial and literary greats. 

From Stage One which begins in Beverley, home to one of England’s finest Minsters, to Settle, the peloton will race to Tadcaster then on to Knaresborough which was scene of some of the biggest crowds for the Tour de France in 2014. Taking in much of the Grand Depart 2014 route, a series of climbs takes the riders past Brimham Rocks before a finish in Settle.

The next day, while the Men will race for their second stage, the day will be marked by the Ladies race. They all will start from Otley, home of the current women’s road World Champion LizzieArmitstead. Then the men will have to travel south, on roads not raced in the Tour de France or Tour de Yorkshire, towards Conisbrough Castle and on to Doncaster. 

The final stage will be familiar to those who raced in 2015, starting in Captain James Cook’s home town of Middlesbrough, then into Herriot Country before tackling the infamous Sutton Bank, the first of six King of the Mountain points in just one stage, before heading over the Moors and down towards Scarborough for what promises to be a thrilling finale and a race to the very end.

Riders past and present joined host towns at a launch event in Otley, where Welcome to Yorkshire’s Gary Verity and ASO’s Christian Prudhomme unveiled the full route.

Taking each stage in turn, the detailed profile of each stage is:

Stage 1: Friday 29 April 2016: Beverley to Settle (184km)

Stage 2: Saturday 30 April 2016: Otley to Doncaster (135km)

Stage 3: Sunday 1 May 2016: Middlesbrough to Scarborough (196km)

2016 Maserati Tour de Yorkshire ride

On the final day, Sunday 1st May, the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride will give amateur cyclists the chance to ride many of the roads ridden by the pros in a newly designed sportive route, which will start and finish in Scarborough. The sportive route will follow parts of the Stage 3 men's race whilst also taking in several alternative roads to allow for all 6000 participants to finish in their own time. A highlight of the sportive will see amateur riders finishing with a 1km sea-front sprint finish and crossing the very same finish line as the professional riders, just few hours before them. There will be three distances for riders to choose from; 40km, 85km and 115km.

Official Route - 2016 Tour de Yorkshire by tourdefrance