'A real honour' for Halifax to be start town for Tour de Yorkshire 2019

The full routes for the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire and Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race have been unveiled at Leeds Civic Hall.

Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Sir Gary Verity led a packed press conference this morning with the Amaury Sport Organisation’s Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme.

Halifax will once again feature on the last stage of the race with riders racing to Leeds for the grand finale.

“This stage will once again be a great endurance test, featuring some tough terrain with many climbs and several sprints.

"It is great that this year’s route will showcase other parts of Calderdale, including Savile Park and King Cross, before heading out to Bradshaw and leaving the borough and heading on to Haworth.

“The route will feature some really picturesque scenery which will showcase the borough wonderfully – especially if we’re lucky enough to have weather like last year!

“Of course whatever the weather, the Tour de Yorkshire will be a great four days in Yorkshire and will be a real boost for the local economy and tourism in Calderdale.”

The Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race meanwhile, will take place between 3-4 May meaning that for the first time ever, it will be held on a Friday and Saturday to allow more people to celebrate the race. Further new ground is also being broken by the fact both stages will be exactly the same as the men’s, meaning the 2019 edition will be the longest yet at 264km and also the hardest with over of 3,200m of cumulative climbing.