The spectacular Tour de Yorkshire cycle race will visit Craven again next year, it has been announced today.

Stage Three of the 2017 race, taking place on Sunday April 30, will travel through Bolton Abbey, Barden, Burnsall, Linton, Cracoe, Rylstone, down Skipton High Street, and on to Farnhill and Silsden before heading off through Haworth and Leeming, into South Yorkshire and finishing in Fox Valley, Sheffield.

The stage has been named ‘The Yorkshire Terrier’ as this will be the toughest stage in the history of the Tour de Yorkshire, covering 194.5km with eight categorised climbs.

Earlier this year, Stage One of the 2016 race finished in Settle, where huge crowds greeted some of the best cyclists in the world.

Paul Shevlin, chief executive of Craven District Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to show the world again the very best of Craven. I’m delighted that we’ve been chosen again to be a part of this great event – it’s a tribute to the investment we’ve put into the Tour de Yorkshire and cycling in the district.

“The Tour de France in 2014, the Tour de Yorkshire in Settle this year and Skipton Cycle Races in 2015 and 2016 have made Craven famous for cycling across the world.

“It’s brilliant that once again our local economy will benefit from worldwide television coverage and an influx of spectators from far and wide.”

The route through Craven will be controlled by a rolling road closure to minimise disruption to residents and visitors.

Councillor Chris Harbron, Leader of Skipton Town Council, said: “News of the Tour coming through the heart of Skipton will bring back some great memories of the Tour de France and, as the race coincides with our traditional Waterway Festival event, we can look forward to what will now be an extra special bank holiday weekend for the town.”

The full route for the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire was unveiled at the Impressions Gallery in Bradford on Friday December 2.

Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Sir Gary Verity led a packed press conference with the Amaury Sport Organisation’s Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme. Scott Thwaites was one of many star riders in attendance along with Yorkshire cycling legends such as Brian Robinson, Malcolm Elliott and Denise Burton-Cole. 

Sir Gary said: “I can’t wait to see the world’s best riders tackling these routes. We’ve worked hard to design a course which showcases Yorkshire’s stunning scenery as well as delivering a thrilling sporting event.

“Last year the race attracted 2 million spectators and generated £60 million for the local economy, and we’ll go from strength to strength again next year.

Christian Prudhomme said: “I always enjoy coming to Yorkshire and the county certainly knows how to put on a show. I am excited by what this year’s route has in store and am sure it will provide three days of fantastic racing.”

The third edition of the race takes place between 28 and 30 April 2017. It encompasses all four corners of the county and takes in Yorkshire’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Fountains Abbey and Saltaire.

Stage One of the race, ‘The Coast and Wolds’ will cover 173km from Bridlington to Scarborough, on Friday April 28.

Stage Two has been named ‘Historic Market Towns’ and will travel 122.5km from Tadcaster to Harrogate on Saturday April 29.

North Yorkshire County Council is hosting just over half of the race.

 “Now with three years of experience of hosting world class cycling events in North Yorkshire, I have no doubt that the County Council will once again rise to the challenge and that the residents of North Yorkshire will once again embrace it,” said Councillor Carl Les, the Leader of North Yorkshire County Council.

“The race in 2017 will see even more of the route in the county – just over 50 per cent – with three starts and finishes and it will require considerable planning and expertise to ensure that it can take place in the least disruptive way, while giving all those thousands of people who will undoubtedly want to visit North Yorkshire to see it, the access they need. Working with the district councils and other partners, there will be a significant logistical challenge, which we will respond to efficiently and effectively.”

As with previous years, the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire will see some road closures and parking restrictions but these will be kept to a minimum. The majority of the route will see rolling road closures, which will generally last no more than an hour. The start and finish areas, however, along some of the climbs and some of the busier locations, are likely to see longer road closures will be required to ensure the safety of the race and the spectators. Further details of these and any other parking restrictions will be available nearer to the race weekend.

“Although there will be some disruption associated with the race, we also know there will be significant economic benefit to businesses in our county, from both the spectators and the television and media coverage that comes with the race,” added Councillor Les.

“I believe that we need to continue to make the most of these opportunities and I think that most people now recognise that the benefits far outweigh the small amount of disruption that hosting such a world class raise causes.”