Halifax named as start town for final stage of Tour de Yorkshire 2020

This will be the third time the town has hosted the annual event, as riders have set off from the historic Piece Hall on the final day of racing in both 2018 and 2019.

SEE MORE: Relive the Tour de Yorkshie in Halifax with these 25 fantastic photos

The race this years takes placebetween Thursday April 30 and Sunday May 3. Along with Halifax, Huddersfield, Barnsley, Leeds, Skipton, Beverley, Redcar and Leyburn were confirmed as host towns in November last year.

The Chief Executive of Calderdale Council, Robin Tuddenham, said: “This will be the third time that the town has featured as a host and the images of the cyclists leaving the magnificent Piece Hall are some of the most iconic of the race.

“As ever, I know that the people of Calderdale will turn out and give the riders a fantastic welcome."

Also confirmed was that the 2020 Tour de Yorkshire will form part of the inaugural UCI ProSeries, and its new 2.Pro classification remains the highest-possible status for a multi-day race outside of the UCI WorldTour.

Peter Dodd, Commercial Director of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “We’re delighted Huddersfield, Leyburn, Redcar and Skipton will each be making their debuts as we’re always striving to bring our race to new parts of this great county.

“The other locations have already proven themselves as more-than-worthy recipients and we cannot wait to revisit them as well.”

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France at the A.S.O, said: “The Tour de Yorkshire is a true success story and it is now one of the best attended and most dramatic races on the cycling calendar.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with such a great team at Welcome to Yorkshire and I know our eight start and finish locations will put on a real show in 2020.”