Tour de France: Looking back at the day the 2014 Grand Départ came to Calderdale

Saturday, June 29 marked the start of this year’s Tour de France - or La Grande Boucle - and it is the historic race’s 111th edition.

2024 marks 10 years since West Yorkshire was adorned in yellow decorations and Calderdale’s streets teemed with thousands of visitors taking in the electric atmosphere of the Tour de France’s 2014 Grand Départ.

The Courier has taken a look back at the momentous occasion, which took place across Yorkshire on July 5 and 6 ten years ago, speaking to those who made it possible and asking what the big event means to Calderdale a decade on.

The Grand Départ’s first day took the cyclists from Leeds to Harrogate via towns such as Otley, Skipton, Hawes and Ripon.

On the second day, riders travelled from York to Sheffield via Haworth, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Ripponden and Elland.

All eyes were on Yorkshire as world-famous cyclists traversed the countryside, tackling such obstacles as the formidable Cragg Vale Incline - the longest continuous gradient in England - the Holme Moss climb, and the stunning Buttertubs Pass.

2014 was the year Vincenzo Nibali won – racing for Team Astana – and Britain’s hopes that Mark Cavendish would get the yellow jersey were punctured when the sprinter crashed in the final metres of Stage One, much to the “horreur” of British onlookers.

Despite uninspiring results from the British riders, Calderdale’s spirits were far from deflated, with a whirl of activity and community spirit permeating the borough’s towns across the weekend and in the days and months preceding it.

In Todmorden, the Tour de Tod group staged a “Party in the Park” event, which saw families congregate in Centre Vale Park to enjoy brass band performances and a firework display on the Saturday.

The Sunday – when the race took on the York to Sheffield route – saw a 16-metre screen erected for spectators to gather and watch the tour travel through Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and the Cragg Vale Incline.

The excitement went up a gear in Ripponden with a Guinness World Record attempt by the Halifax-based Stod Fold Brewing Company, who filled a gigantic glass with over 3,664 pints of beer (reflecting the kilometres of the race) outside The Fleece Inn.

The 2014 Tour de France also had a festival to accompany it for the first time in its history: the Yorkshire Festival 2014.

Calderdale Council said it was “an ambitious cultural event designed to promote the county’s artistic richness and breath-taking landscapes to residents and visitors alike”.

It ran for 100 days leading up to the Grand Départ. Notably, one event which took place in the April involved a group of cyclists towing a mini grand-piano to which they were attached up Cragg Road.

Reid Anderson, a Halifax Imperial Wheelers cycling club member, recalled the months leading up to the Tour.

He said: “Cragg Vale was the centre of attention. Teams used it on reccies of the Calderdale stage.

“We watched Chris Froome and Team Sky there. Multiple Tour winner Bernard Hinault called in at the Robin Hood for a pint and then rode the climb in the company of local riders.

“Bernard was a famously spiky character and no-one was allowed to ride in front of him.”

Reid had travelled to watch several Tour de France races over the years, including Provence in 2013.

Recalling the day of the event in Calderdale, he added: “On the day the crowds were enormous, especially on the climbs, Cragg Vale and Ripponden Bank.”

Robin Tuddenham, now Chief Executive of Calderdale Council, was involved in organising the event at the time.

He said: “[It took] many months of preparation, [with] chief executives, directors and businesses working together across Yorkshire and the Humber.

“The national and international attention was significant and it was a serious undertaking. It was hard to be prepared for the scale of the event until you’re organising it.

“It’s a celebration and a very memorable weekend that we’ll always remember.”

Robin emphasised the pivotal role the police played in facilitating the safety of the event, stressing the huge volume of resources that organising such large-scale events demand, not just financially but in terms of the people required.

Despite this, Calderdale’s handling of the Tour de France set a precedent for the borough. It encouraged the council to understand how to put on large-scale events, perhaps paving the way for it to achieve other large projects, such as the re-opening of the Piece Hall and, as Robin said, “helped build the capacity to do further things”.

Local cyclist Andy Greenwood was a Tour Maker at the time. Andy recalls attending a briefing with other volunteers at the West Yorkshire Police Headquarters in Wakefield.

He said he did not know what to expect initially, but the briefing – which was also attended by Gary Verity, the lead campaigner for the Grand Départ being held in Yorkshire – helped him realise the scale of the event.

“Verity was over there and we had a big brief about what they expected from the Tour Makers,” he said. “They did three or four sessions with about 100 in each session, and [it was] then I realised it was quite a big thing.

“It’s a great honour for the Tour de France to come over into anyone’s village.”

Andy said Tour Makers occupied a multitude of roles, from flag wavers to supervisors to being tasked with directing people.

On the Sunday – Day Two of the Départ – Andy was stationed at Holme Moss, ensuring the crowds were safe and informing spectators of what time to expect the peloton.

The highlight of the weekend for Andy remains a vivid memory of the sheer number of people amassed at Holme Moss: “We were there from seven or eight o’clock in the morning; the caravan wasn’t coming through until one in the afternoon and it was already busy.

“Seeing that sight climbing up to the top of Holme Moss; I just couldn’t believe how many people [were there].”

When asked if he felt the Tour de France had a lasting impact on cycling uptake in the area, Andy said: “Definitely [...] I think the first step-change was in 2012 when Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France. I was in Paris when I saw that. It was the first time a Brit won the Tour de France.

“From then it started slowly building; you could see more people on the road - you hardly used to see anyone - then the Tour de France in 2014 was another big catalyst, and from then the Tour de Yorkshire.

“[There are] people cycling all over Yorkshire now.

“I would definitely say 2014 gave it such a fantastic exposure - it really escalated from then.”