Team Sky rider Josh Edmondson of Leeds today joins the Yorkshire Post as our guest columnist building up to the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire 
in July. Every month he will write here about his journey to the Tour and his aspirations for what he hopes to be a glorious career in cycling’s top peloton.

As a professional cyclist from Yorkshire I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to try and ride a Tour de France that begins right here in my home county.

Yorkshire has a grand cycling tradition with the likes of Tommy Simpson, Brian Robinson and Barry Hoban.

They all blazed a trail for British cycling but they never got the chance to ride the Tour de France on the fantastic roads they grew up training on.

That is the opportunity that presents itself to me, my Team Sky colleague Ben Swift of Rotherham and Burley-in-Wharfedale’s Scott Thwaites, of NetApp Endura, who is a long-time riding companion of mine.

All three of us have a massive task on our hands getting into our respective teams for the 101st Tour de France that begins right here in Leeds on July 5.

Over the coming months I will be writing this column to give you an insight into my training and how, as a 21-year-old embarking on my second season in the professional peloton, I hope to crown it with what will be the highlight of my career no matter what I go on to achieve – standing on the start line of the Tour de France in my home city.

I am under no illusions, though. The size of the task is monumental.

I am fortunate to be a member of a Team Sky squad that is thriving at the moment, having won the last two Tours de France through Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.

That success though is a double-edged sword for an ambitious rider like myself, because it means the team is constantly producing and recruiting top-class talent to strengthen the squad.

Only nine men ride for a team at the Tour de France and, of course, a number of the spots on our roster are spoken for.

It is my job to do all I can to get myself onto that team. Pete Kennaugh is a good friend of mine and he showed last year that no matter how young you are, if you’re good enough, team principal Dave Brailsford will have no hesitation in looking your way.

That’s why I’ve been putting the hard yards in at home and abroad this last month or so.

Yesterday, I flew out to Majorca for a second training camp and the start of my season at the Mallorca Challenge.

That first camp was an excellent training period. We had a good group of guys out there and got a lot done.

Swifty and Wiggo were out with me for much of the time.

Wiggo is a great training partner and you might have seen the footage of me and him on the telly recently sharing a joke as we rode along.

He’s still giving me a bit of abuse about my Yorkshire accent. He’s got a bit of a cheek really given his Lancashire accent but it’s all in good fun. I think I’m just an easy target for him.

Brad has been training very well. He’s been talking about the Tour a lot, and he’s very keen as a former winner to ride the Tour here in England. It’s such a monumental occasion for British cycling and Brad knows that.

I don’t know in what capacity he’d like to ride it but he’s definitely determined to be back involved.

The training at this time of season is just about getting a base of endurance in and making sure we’ve all got enough miles in our legs for the season ahead.

They’re quite long days on the bike so we all get up and eat at the same time, we all have the same breakfast dependent on what the nutritionist says we need to have, whether it’s a low-carb day or a high-carb day.

Then it’s out on a long six or seven-hour ride.

A lot of the teams decamp out to Mallorca because the weather’s good – about 15 degrees – it’s good terrain and this time of year it’s quite quiet, other than the large amounts of cyclists out there.

NetApp Endura were out there and I bumped into Scott Thwaites, but there was also Lotto-Belisol and GreenEdge who we raced past a few times, so it’s busy.

As good as the roads are here in Yorkshire – as the world’s best cyclists will find out this summer – the work we do in Mallorca is work that I can’t really do back home.

Having said that, I’ve just had the last week at home and I still trained hard. I had a bit of time to enjoy being in Yorkshire and in Leeds and it was great to get my old training group back together of Scott, Tommy Busted, my brother Nathan and Tom Barras.

We tend to head down past Bolton Abbey and beyond. As a group we’ve ridden together for years and know these roads that will stage the Tour this year so well.

Even though I’ve been doing this for years and, hopefully, will be doing for years to come, I still have the desire every morning to get out of bed and head out on the bike.

Some days are easier than others obviously; when it’s hammering down and freezing like we’ve had on a lot of occasions this week, nobody particularly wants to set off but when you’ve got a good group like we have got here its enough of an incentive. Plus, they’re such great roads to cycle.

In this second spell in Mallorca, which begins today, I’ll be picking up the intensity, incorporating a few harder stints into my training.

The season begins for me on February 9 with the Majorca Challenge, a series of four individual races.

For me, the aim will vary every day depending on who I am supporting for a stage win. I know it’s a big week for Swifty and his Tour de France ambitions. The first day in Palma is a circuit race which will be good for him as a sprinter. February is a big month for all of us with aspirations of making Team Sky’s Tour de France line-up.

The major aim for me in this early part of the season is to do well in the Ardennes Classics. I’m going to be riding two of the big ones in late April, La Fleche Wallone and Liege-Bastogne-Liege so, hopefully, I can put in some good performances in the build-up to those.

My aims are never about getting the win, it’s all about me helping who we’ve got going for the win to achieve that. I just hope to go well there and prove myself.

In this first part of the season I’ve got to show consistency, that I can do my job in supporting the main guy to the best of my ability.

There is a bit of a hierarchy to work through in the team and each time you progress your job gets harder and harder until eventually you lead the team.

Naturally, I want my job to get harder and harder as the season progresses.

The role of the domestique is not one that catches the eye of the viewers on television, so my job is to make the people that really matter in the team aware of how hard I am working for the good of the team.

They’ll see that by how shattered you are at the end of a day’s racing.

Only then will I know if I’m good enough to make Sky’s Tour de France team.

Interview by Nick Westby

Yorkshire’s Ben Swift is confident his bid to ride in the Tour de France in his home county will not be thwarted by his troublesome shoulder.

The 26-year-old from Rotherham returns to road competition on Sunday, six months after ending his 2013 campaign prematurely to undergo surgery on an injury that had held him back for the best part of three years.

He will contest all four races that make up the Mallorca Challenge before heading to the Middle East to support Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who is opening his season at the Tour of Oman from February 18.

It is a hectic schedule on Swift’s return and will provide the perfect test of his recuperated shoulder, which he first put under duress over the winter on rides around South Yorkshire and at a training camp in the Balearics.

“Technically I’ve been riding the last three years with a broken shoulder, so it’s going to take time to get back to a normal feeling,” said Swift, who won a scratch race on the track at the Manchester Velodrome at the weekend.

“It’s definitely stronger, I just need to get over that fatigue in it now.

“To get it back to its normal state could take a long time.

“But I feel race fit because I’ll put up with anything I’ve got that is recurring.

“It’s about the muscle patterning and imbalance now because I’ve been working for three years with a bad shoulder.

“Stuff like that can take a long time to come back from.”

It was during the Mallorca Challenge last year that Swift suffered a nasty crash that aggravated the injury.

He soldiered on through the Spring and summer but took the decision at the Eneco Tour in August to draw a line under the year and concentrate all his efforts on what could be a career-defining 2014.

Swift completed the Tour de France in 2011 for Sky but in the two and a half years since the world order in cycling has shifted, with the British squad turning the wheel quicker than anyone.

Tour de France victories for Sir Bradley Wiggins and Froome have transformed Sky into the dominant force, with their support riders now among the best in the business.

It means the task facing Swift and his fellow Yorkshireman Josh Edmondson in making Sky’s nine-man roster for the Tour de France, which begins in Leeds on July 5, is harder than ever.

To carve out a niche for himself, Swift has channelled his energies into becoming a sprinter over the past seasons and is currently behind Edvald Boasson Hagen and CJ Sutton in the team’s pecking order.

That is why February is so vital for Swift, who is the designated sprinter in Sky’s eight-man squad for the six-day stage race in Oman, and races in Boasson Hagen’s absence at the Mallorca-opening Trofea Palma on Sunday.

He knows that to press his claims to be chosen ahead of Boasson Hagen and Sutton he needs to go well this month, and put any concerns about his shoulder out of his mind.

“For me it’s getting that confidence back because, for whatever reason, riding with the bad shoulder you don’t fight like you’d normally fight, you don’t go for the gaps like you normally would.

“So you’re always starting your sprint from 10 places back of where you’d normally be. Then all of a sudden you find yourself in that scenario week-in, week-out. You can always lose your confidence, but once you break the ice, hopefully the wins will start coming more often.”

On his sprinting style, Swift adds: “I’d say I’m a bit more in the bracket of a sprinter like Peter Sagan or a Matt Goss, where we can sprint in the bigger groups but we prefer it a bit hillier.

“If I come up against a Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish or Andre Greipel, nine times out of 10 we’ll always get beaten.

“But if it’s a lumpy, hard, hillier circuit, that’s where we come into our own and that’s what I’ve been working on.

“I’d like a stage win, it would be nice to start the season off well.

“First and foremost, I’m looking to stay upright.”

The Tour of Britain – the race in which Swift burst onto the scene seven years ago when he won the King of the Mountains classification – has been upgraded to HC status by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, in a move which opens the door for more of the world’s top teams to participate.

Tour organisers SweetSpot and British Cycling confirmed Britain’s national Tour has been awarded the 2.HC (hors categorie) status for 2014 and beyond, putting it on a par with events including the Tour of California, Tour of Qatar and Criterium International.

The move is recognition of the race’s growing reputation on the world stage.

The 2013 Tour was won by Team Sky’s Wiggins.

The 2014 edition is scheduled to take place from September 7-14 with further details of the route to be announced in the Spring.

nick.westby@ypn.co.uk

A TOWN will be decorated with artistically ‘dressed’ old bicycles in celebration of the Tour de France visiting the area.

Barnsley residents are being asked to check sheds and garages for unloved or beyond repair bicycles to give them a chance to get a new lease of life and become part of an art project.

The Tour de France Grand Depart takes place in Yorkshire over the weekend of July 5 and 6. Stage two on Sunday, July 6 will see riders passing through Barnsley’s beautiful Langsett area around 3pm and 4.30pm before to Sheffield for the finish.

Barnsley Council is planning to dress the town centre with decorated bicycles, aided by Barnsley Market traders who will be using their stall goods as themes. Bikes will be covered in flowers, fruit and veg and even underwear.

The bicycles will be revealed on March 27 – the start of a 100-day Cultural Festival designed to encourage mass public participation in arts and cultural events in the run up to the Grand Départ.

Barnsley Market trader Geoff Blackburn, who has donated the first bike, joked: “Vive le Tour de France, et vive le Marche!”

Meanwhile, cycle shop Ilkley Cycles has opened in Skipton Road on the Tour de France route. The peloton will pass on July 5, en route to Harrogate.

Transport plans aimed at keeping Leeds moving when the Tour de France departs from The Headrow on July 5 have been released today.

Leeds City Council is calling on residents to plan ahead after it announced that roads on or connected to stage one in Leeds will be closed for at least eight hours on race day, with most expected to shut from 7am to 3pm.

Vehicle access to the city centre will be restricted, while the Tour infrastructure including the publicity caravan of vehicles, spectators and the race itself moves in and out of the city.

The plans, which have been put together with help from emergency services, mean the route must be cleared of all public vehicles prior to the closures.

Coun Lucinda Yeadon, the council’s lead member for leisure, said every effort is being made to minimise disruption. She said: “We want everyone to start planning now how they can make the absolute most of it.”

The closures follow the route of stage one, which starts on The Headrow and covers portions of Eastgate, Regent Street, Scott Hall Road, Harrogate Road, the A659 from Harewood, following Otley Road and Arthington Lane through Pool-in-Wharfedale and on to Otley before heading out of the district through Ilkley. Through traffic will not be permitted during the closures, though there will be very limited access from the Leeds Inner Ring Road.

A revised bus timetable and park and ride service will be released nearer to the event and pedestrians will be able to cross certain areas at designated points on the day.

Meanwhile the 30,000 people who applied to become Tour Makers are now being asked to fill in a final application. The volunteer officials will greet visitors and marshall parts of the three UK stages.

Asda has committed to the recruitment and clothing of the volunteers and will provide the final volunteer force with a Tour Maker uniform exclusively designed by its clothing brand George.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “We have had a massive response from the public since we announced the Tour was coming and it shows there is a huge public appetite to get involved in this momentous event.”

Leeds City Council has written to all residents and businesses directly impacted by the stage one route, while launching a dedicated Tour-related email alert account and area of its website.

Visit www.leeds.gov.uk/granddepartleeds for Tour details or email granddepartleeds@leeds.gov.uk for regular council Tour updates.

A procession of Yorkshire-branded vehicles is set to roll into spring cycle races all over Europe to promote the county’s role in the Tour de France 2014.

The Welcome to Yorkshire cars and vans, which paraded along the Grand Depart route in Corsica prior to the races as part of the official Tour de France 2013 publicity caravan, is gearing up to visit the Spring Classic cycle races for the first time to drum up support for stages one and two of the 2014 Tour.

The Le Tour Yorkshire caravan crew will start their European publicity drive in Paris on March 16, before passing through Corsica and Belgium and ending at the World Port Classic in Rotterdam on May 24 and 25.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Our aim is to take full advantage of any opportunities to promote our great county as a destination now and well into the future, but especially so ahead of the Grand Depart.

“Events like this offer a great opportunity to promote Yorkshire’s Grand Depart to a huge cycling audience across Europe in cycling heartlands, and help continue to spread the word about Yorkshire far and wide.”

Visit letour.yorkshire.com for further information.

Half a dozen Leeds bar regulars are getting on their bikes in memory of a Yorkshire icon as the Tour de France comes to the city.

Friends Chris Clyburn, Ai Lyn Tan, Chris Dunne, Ives Solo, Dave Walton and Pete Crampton have decided to mark the Grand Depart’s visit to Leeds by taking up a gruelling 510-mile Paris to Leeds cycling challenge that will end in the city days before the Tour sets off on July 5.

The group, who all frequent Pin Bar, in Dock Street, were inspired to take up the mammoth ride by late cancer fighter and fundraiser Jane Tomlinson and aim to raise £10,000 for the charity that bears her name.

Hoping to celebrate the arrival of the world’s most famous cycling race in style, the “mixed bag” of cycling experience is hoping to triumphantly return to Dock Street in time for a Tour-themed street party on July 2.

Hilary Leam, 42, who is helping to organise the ride dubbed ‘Pavé to Cobble’, said: “Jane Tomlinson was renound for beating the odds with real physical challenges and we found her inspirational – plus she’s from Yorkshire.

“Generally having done stuff in the past for charity it really helps you get through the miles knowing how the charities can help people.”

The cyclists, who are based in Harrogate and Leeds and range from a doctor to bank staff and entrepreneurs, will set off from Paris on June 27 with the aim of returning to Leeds on July 2.

Ms Leam said: “The guys are training really seriously. Yorkshire is such a beautiful part of the world to cycle around so it’s massively important that people get out on their bikes and celebrate the fact we are hosting the Grand Depart.”

The team are paying all their own costs and are already planning extra fundraising events and ways to raise money before the ride, including quiz nights at Pin Bar, gaining sponsorship and commissioning special Leeds Brewery beers.

Chris Terry, manager of Pin Bar, is backing the group of punters to succeed and is among the businesses looking to welcome them in a special Dock Street Tour de France street party.

He said: “We are hoping to get the whole community around Dock Street involved in the celebration. Everyone will be welcome to the street party as we showcase our renowned Yorkshire hospitality, bringing family, friends and strangers together.”

To donate to the appeal or for information, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/pavetocobble.

TOURISM bosses in Yorkshire believe hosting the Tour de France this summer has already helped to boost visitor numbers to the region.

Welcome to Yorkshire saw an increase in tourists, the length of time people were staying and the amount of money they were spending in the months after it was announced that the world famous race’s Grand Départ will be coming to the region in July.

A spokesman said this could have helped play a part in the recent announcement that record number of overseas visitors have been coming to the UK.

Overseas residents made 32.89m visits to the UK in 2013 – a rise of six per cent on the 2012 total and higher than the previous record of 32.78m set in 2007.

The amount these foreign visitors spent last year rose 13 per cent to a record £20.99bn, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

And tourism bosses in Yorkshire predict this year will be even more successful.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “Since December 2012 when we announced our bid to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire was successful, we’ve seen a major increase in Yorkshire’s global profile.

“Lonely Planet has named Yorkshire in the top three regions in the world to visit in 2014 and we’re in AOL’s global top 10 holiday destinations for 2014, and there’s more besides.

“This year promises to be Yorkshire’s year – the county will be beamed onto TV screens worldwide this July when the Grand Départ begins, which will help raise our global profile to new heights.”

The visits nationally included 12.78m for holiday purposes – a seven per cent rise on the 2012 figure – while the number of business trips rose seven per cent to 7.93m. The ONS figures also showed that UK residents made 58.03m visits abroad in 2013 – a rise of three per cent on 2012. The amount they spent on these trips overseas last year rose seven per cent to £34.67bn.

VisitBritain’s chief executive, Sandie Dawe, said: “Not only have we managed to surpass the £20bn barrier for the very first time (for annual overseas visitor spending), but we’ve broken records for holidaymakers and visitors from key growth markets such as China and South Korea.

“Our international tourists are starting to see and do more across the country, which tells us that our GREAT (UK-promoting advertising) campaign is not only working, but influencing travel too. Holiday figures are up across the whole of Britain. Every pound invested in our tourism marketing results in visitors spending £19 in this country. The financial benefits from inbound tourism are clear for everyone to see.”

Tourism minister Helen Grant added: “Overseas visitors spent more in Britain than ever before last year and that shows our tourism strategy is working. With nearly £21bn spent, it also demonstrates the significant contribution the tourism industry is making to the country’s economic recovery.

“We will continue to support the sector and promote Britain to the world as a great place to visit and do business with.”

The start line for the Tour de France Grand Depart has been lined with official banners as the July 5 send off approaches.

The roadside branding along The Headrow outside Leeds Art Gallery and the city’s town hall is the first physical sign to tee up the world famous race’s well-awaited arrival in the region.

The official Grand Depart logo, which will be seen on and around the route, is complemented by Leeds City Council’s ‘Cycling Starts Here’ emblem aimed to promote wider cycling activity in the area.

Council leader Coun Keith Wakefield said: “The banners will be seen by thousands of people in the weeks and months to come providing an exciting symbol of the once-in-a-lifetime event we can all enjoy.”

Stage one of the Tour will roll into action outside Leeds Town Hall on July 5 from 11.10am, with the greatest cyclists on the planet riding 190km to Harrogate.

The second stage on July 6 is 200km from York to Sheffield, while stage three runs from Cambridge to London the following day.

Chief executive of Tour bid winners Welcome to Yorkshire, Gary Verity, said: “Activity around the Grand Depart is really revving up.”

Visit www.leeds.gov.uk/granddepartleeds.

Knitting enthusiasts are being tasked with stitching together a trail of Tour de France cycles that will stretch across Yorkshire.

A ‘Yarn storm’ artist from Yorkshire, is calling on residents to join one of 20 woollen workshops from next week, which will create 10 bicycles inspired by the region.

Once complete the artistic cycles, themed on everything from whippets to the White Rose, will go on display together at Sheffield Cathedral from July 1 to 31 as part of the Yorkshire Festival that precedes the Grand Depart.

The woollen cycles will then return to the towns, villages and cities across Yorkshire in which they were created, forming The Woolly Bike Trail across the county for 12 months.

Cassandra Kilbride, who is running the workshops, said: “It will be good to show the world Yorkshire wool and what can be created with it. I hope the trail inspires people to think about the towns in which they live, their heritage and what we have achieved as a county.” The 29-year-old from Ossett will host workshops in 10 Yorkshire towns to create bikes with up to 20 volunteers each time, starting at Wakefield One on Thursday, from 10.30am to 3.30pm, ahead of visits to the likes of Sheffield, Halifax and Haworth before her exhibition. For details visit www.yorkshireswoollybikes.co.uk.

The festival, which is the first arts celebration to build up to the Tour in its 111-year history, officially launches on March 27.

Henrietta Duckworth, executive producer of the festival, said: “It’s exciting to see the Yorkshire Festival 2014 projects get underway – this is such a terrific, quirky project.”

Wool-weaving Tour fans in Harrogate have already shown their enthusiasm for the event, with almost 8,000 pledges to knit yellow, white, green and red dotted jerseys that will decorate the town as bunting for the big race’s arrival on July 5 and 6.

Harrogate Borough Council had a 3,000-jersey target but pledges from as far as Bermuda and Canada have seen the total soar. One even sent in 89 jerseys.

To contribute, jerseys must be sent to drop-off points by March 10. Visit www.harrogate.gov.uk/letourdebunting for details.

Knitting enthusiasts are being tasked with stitching together a trail of Tour de France cycles that will stretch across Yorkshire.

Yarn storm artist Cassandra Kilbride, from Ossett, is calling on nimble-fingered residents to join any one of 20 woollen workshops from next week, which will spawn 10 bicycles covered in crochet inspired by our region.

Once complete the artistic cycles, themed on everything from whippets to the White Rose, will go on display together at Sheffield Cathedral from July 1 to 31 as part of the Yorkshire Festival which precedes the Grand Depart.

The woollen cycles will then return to the towns, villages and cities across Yorkshire in which they were created, forming The Woolly Bike Trail across the county for 12 months.

Cassandra, 29, told the YEP: “It will be good to show the world Yorkshire wool and what can be created with it. I hope the trail inspires people to think about the towns in which they live, their heritage and what we have achieved as a county.”

The festival, which is the first arts celebration to build up to the Tour in its 111-year history, officially launches on March 27.

Cassandra will host two workshops in each of 10 Yorkshire towns to create the bikes with up to 20 volunteers each time, starting at Wakefield One on Thursday, from 10.30am to 3.30pm, ahead of visits to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Halifax and Haworth before her July exhibition. To get involved visit www.yorkshireswoollybikes.co.uk.

Henrietta Duckworth, executive producer of the festival, said: “It’s exciting to see the Yorkshire Festival 2014 projects get underway – this is such a terrific, quirky project.”

Wool-weaving Tour de France fans in Harrogate have already shown their enthusiasm for the event, with almost 8,000 pledges to knit yellow, white, green and red dotted jerseys that will decorate the streets of the town as bunting this summer for the big race’s arrival on July 5 and 6.

Harrogate Borough Council set the needle high with a 3,000-jersey target but pledges from as far as Austria, Bermuda and Canada have seen the total soar. Anyone wishing to contribute must hand in creations at drop-off points by March 10.

Patrick Kilburn, head of the council’s parks and open spaces department, said: “We don’t mind whether people send us one jersey or a box full – the most we know one person has knitted is 89 so far.”

Visit www.harrogate.gov.uk/letourdebunting for further information.

EMERGENCY funding running into millions of pounds is being sought to tackle a roads crisis in Yorkshire before the global spotlight falls on the region with the staging of the Tour de France’s Grand Départ this summer.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has been urged to intervene to help reverse a £322m backlog of maintenance on North Yorkshire’s highways.

The request from North Yorkshire County Council’s leader, John Weighell, comes less than five months before the region welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors to watch the world’s biggest annual sporting event.

In a letter to Mr McLoughlin, Coun Weighell says the issue “is rapidly becoming a crisis”.

He added: “Insufficient funding for highway maintenance is not a problem unique to North Yorkshire, but I believe we feel the pain particularly badly.

“North Yorkshire is the biggest local authority in England by area and has the third largest road network. The topography of North Yorkshire means we are vulnerable to extreme weather.

“Our dispersed population and our rural economy make our minor roads particularly important. Added to this, the cars, HGVs and agricultural vehicles are getting heavier and larger and this has increased their impact on the condition of these minor roads.”

A council analysis suggests that even if the backlog of repairs was removed North Yorkshire would need £60m a year to keep on top of road maintenance – more than double what it currently receives.

Coun Weighell’s letter continues: “Of course we are not just throwing money at the problem. New and improved systems allow better management and ensure we get the best possible value for money. This has allowed us to arrest the deterioration of our most heavily used roads. However, this has 
been at the expense of our minor roads.”

Yorkshire will host the first two stages of this year’s Tour with large sections of the route on both days taking the peloton through North Yorkshire. The race will set off from Leeds to Harrogate via the Yorkshire Dales on July 5, before starting in York and finishing in Sheffield the following day.

Coun Weighell said repairs to prepare the Tour route had not significantly added to the county’s bill but had seen spending shifted away from other roads.

“There is an impact from the Tour de France on the budget of North Yorkshire but that is about more than the roads and of course we have duty to look after the economic well-being of the county which the Tour de France will contribute to for years to come.”

The Transport Secretary is being asked to match an additional £5m that the county council is planning to put into road maintenance in the coming year.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The Secretary of State has received the letter from the leader of North Yorkshire County Council and will consider the points raised. The Department for Transport is providing the council with over £104m in funding for local highways maintenance between 2011 to 2015, which includes over £11m in additional funding we have announced to assist with maintenance of the local road network.”

The appeal over roads is the latest example of an increasing willingness by the Tory-run county council to publicly confront Ministers over funding shortfalls.

The authority has already said the money on offer from the Government in return for freezing council tax bills is not enough to meet the financial challenges it faces and this year it will put up council tax for the first time since 2011. Coun Weighell is due to meet the Transport Secretary later this month.
 james.reed@ypn.co.uk

As the eyes of the world prepare to gaze upon Yorkshire this summer, preparations are being made for 2,000 global journalists to descend on the county.

Leeds’ status as the host for the start of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart is seeing detailed plans drawn up by Leeds City Council chiefs, with the latest report going before an authority scrutiny board today.

The document reveals plans are in place to host the world’s media on MEPC land at Wellington Place in the city centre for the July races, while five grandstands will be erected at The Headrow startline for the stage one send off on July 5 from 11.10am.

Spectator hubs where visitors can view the passing race on big screens will be set up at Scott Hall Playing Fields, Harewood House and in Otley, although the council is still to find out if Government will help fund them.

An excitable crowd is expected to line the length of the 190km route of stage one from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5, with 27,000 people anticipated to gather roadside along the first 1.5km of the route alone.

Council leader Coun Keith Wakefield said: “The exciting plans around the Tour de France Grand Depart in Leeds are progressing well and everything remains on course and on budget.”

It is expected that more will emerge as to whether the council will stick to its own £3.6m forecast for the event once its contracts for services, which are all out to tender, are secured.

Resources for Leeds schools to make the most of the event have also now been sent across the city region, with a programme of 30 projects based around teaching, learning, celebration and legacy developed to include a mini Tour de France for all primary schools at Temple Newsam Park in the coming months.

The report also talks of a site visit made to Leeds in mid-January, which saw Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) look into the possibility of a “parade from the university to the arena”.

Elsewhere in the county, an exclusive sponsorship agreement between ASO and Sheffield Hallam University was announced yesterday.

As the second stage of the Tour sees riders take on a 200km route from York to Sheffield on July 6, the deal will see the university have access to more than 200 volunteering and participatory roles during the event.

At the announcement Professor Philip Jones said: “This event also provides a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of our academic teaching and research strength in sport and event management.”

The news comes as the Government launches a consultation over its plans to temporarily allow more riders on to the country’s highways than the law currently permits to allow the race to go ahead. Responses should be emailed to joe.finlay@dft.gsi.gov.uk before March 27.

Meanwhile a free Tour telephone line, providing key information around the Yorkshire Grand Depart, has been set up by telecoms firm NGC Networks on behalf of tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire.

Tourism chief Gary Verity said: “The information line will be vital for people who don’t have access to the internet, it will provide them with up-to-the-minute details on everything they need to know about the Grand Depart.”

The 0845 5072014 hotline will give advice around the Yorkshire routes, volunteering, where to stay, road closures and parking. Visit www.letouryorkshire.com.

As the eyes of the world prepare to gaze upon Leeds this summer, preparations are being made for 2,000 journalists from all over the world to descend on the city.

Leeds’ status as the host for the start of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart is seeing detailed plans drawn up by Leeds City Council chiefs, with the latest report going before an authority scrutiny board today.

The document reveals arrangements are now in place to host the watching world’s media on MEPC land at Wellington Place for the July 5 and 6 races, while five grandstands are to be erected on The Headrow for the start of stage one.

Spectator hubs where visitors can view the passing race on big screens will be set up at Scott Hall Playing Fields, Harewood House and in Otley, although the council is still to find out if Government will help fund them.

An excitable crowd is expected to line the length of the 190km route of stage one from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5, with 27,000 people anticipated to gather roadside along the first 1.5km of the route alone.

Council leader Coun Keith Wakefield said: “The exciting plans around the Tour de France Grand Depart in Leeds are progressing well and everything remains on course and on budget.”

It is expected that more will emerge as to whether the council will stick to its own £3.6m forecast for the event once its contracts for services, which are all out to tender, are secured.

The report also talks of a site visit made to Leeds in mid-January, which saw Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation look into the possibility of a “parade from the university to the arena”.

Resources for Leeds schools to make the most of the event have also now been sent across the city, with a programme of 30 projects based around teaching, learning, celebration and legacy developed to include a mini Tour de France for all primary schools at Temple Newsam Park in the coming months.

The report comes as the Government launches a consultation over its plans to temporarily allow more riders on to the country’s highways than the law currently permits to allow the race to go ahead. Responses should be emailed to joe.finlay@dft.gsi.gov.uk before March 27.

Meanwhile a free Tour telephone line, providing key information around the Yorkshire Grand Depart, has been set up by telecoms firm NGC Networks on behalf of tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire.

Tourism chief Gary Verity said: “The information line will be vital for people who don’t have access to the internet.”

The 0845 5072014 hotline will give stage one and two advice around the routes, volunteering, where to stay, road closures and parking. Visit www.letouryorkshire.com for information.

The £2m Grand Depart cultural festival’s director has left her role leading the event less than half way through a 12-month contract.

It has emerged that Maria Bota, who was installed as festival director of the Yorkshire Festival 2014 back in August, handed over the reins to the first ever pre-Tour de France arts celebration as far back as December 18 when she ended her £55,000-a-year job.

The events supremo, who had made her name heading up Salisbury Festival, was tasked with commissioning artists for the 47-project county-wide event which starts on March 27.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire confirmed the departure and said that the then director had suggested stepping down and did not receive a pay-off.

A spokeswoman said Ms Bota had a pre-planned trip to Australia over the Christmas period and upon being told the festival programme would be launched in January, she offered to leave.

She said: “Maria put in a place a terrific programme which touches almost every part of our county and includes a wide range of cultural activity. It was then mutually agreed we should appoint an executive producer.”

Henrietta Duckworth, a West Yorkshire Playhouse producer of eight years, was brought into the fold in December to take over.

The Yorkshire Festival 2014’s cultural programme, which will mark the 100-day countdown to the Grand Depart on July 5 and 6, was announced with much fanfare following an artistic flashmob at the Trinity Leeds shopping centre in late January.

Around £1m from Arts Council England has been given to the festival, along with funds from local authorities and Yorkshire Water.

An Arts Council spokeswoman confirmed the organisation has been kept fully informed of the changes.

She said: “We are confident that the festival will be delivered as per the original proposal and will be a great success.”

The £2m Grand Depart cultural festival’s director has left her role leading the event less than half-way through a 12-month contract.

It has emerged that Maria Bota, who was installed as festival director of the Yorkshire Festival 2014 back in August, handed over the reins to the first ever pre-Tour de France arts celebration as far back as December 18, cutting short a £55,000-a-year pay packet.

The events supremo, who had made her name heading up Salisbury Festival, was tasked with commissioning artists for the 47-project county-wide event which starts on March 27.

Tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire confirmed the departure and stated that the then director suggested stepping down and did not receive a pay-off.

A spokeswoman said Ms Bota had a pre-planned trip to Australia over the Christmas period and upon being told the festival programme would be launched in January, she offered to leave.

She said: “Maria put in a place a terrific programme which touches almost every part of our county and includes a wide range of cultural activity. It was then mutually agreed we should appoint an executive producer to deliver the festival.”

Henrietta Duckworth, a West Yorkshire Playhouse producer of eight years, was brought into the fold in December to take over.

The Yorkshire Festival 2014’s cultural programme, which will mark the 100-day countdown to the Grand Depart on July 5 and 6, was announced with much fanfare following an artistic flashmob at the Trinity Leeds shopping centre in late January.

Around £1m from Arts Council England has backed the festival, along with funds from local authorities and Yorkshire Water.

An Arts Council spokeswoman explained the organisation has been kept fully informed of the changes. She said: “We are confident that the festival will be delivered as per the original proposal and will be a great success.”

The woman tasked with delivering the £2m Tour de France arts festival is confident its “extraordinary deadlines” will be met.

Henrietta Duckworth, who was drafted in to the Yorkshire Festival 2014 as executive producer in December, is excited at the prospect of making the event’s 47 projects a reality in time for the start of its programme on March 27.

The West Yorkshire Playhouse producer of eight years took over after festival director Maria Bota left in December.

The festival’s programme, marking the 100-day countdown to the Grand Depart on July 5 and 6, was announced at Trinity Leeds after an artistic flashmob in late January.

She said: “We have got some extraordinary deadlines ahead of us – four weeks to produce the printed programme was pretty darn challenging. We are absolutely confident in each of the projects to deliver the work.”

Money from Arts Council England, local authorities and Yorkshire Water will pay for a programme that includes art forms such as theatre, craft work, sculpture and land art.

The producer added: “It’s brilliant, it’s fantastic, it’s a one off.”

The woman tasked with delivering the £2m Tour de France cultural festival is confident the event’s “extraordinary deadlines” will be met.

Henrietta Duckworth, who was drafted in to the Yorkshire Festival 2014 as executive producer in December, is excited at the prospect of making the event’s 47 projects a reality in time for the start of its programme on March 27.

The West Yorkshire Playhouse producer of eight years took over after festival director Maria Bota left in December.

The festival’s programme, marking the 100-day countdown to the Grand Depart on July 5 and 6, was announced at Trinity Leeds after an artistic flashmob in late January.

She said: “We have got some extraordinary deadlines ahead of us – four weeks to produce the printed programme was pretty darn challenging. We are absolutely confident in each of the projects to deliver the work.”

Money from Arts Council England, local authorities and Yorkshire Water will pay for a programme that includes art forms such as theatre, craft work, sculpture and land art.

Ms Duckworth, who produced for Manchester International Festival 2013, said: “The economic benefit will be significant from the Yorkshire Festival and the Tour de France. It’s brilliant, it’s fantastic, it’s a one off.”

Tour de France fever is seeing Yorkshire residents old and new embrace the famous road race in all new ways.

More than 1,000 children, parents and grandparents went cycling mad for the We Love Le Tour de France family fun day at Leeds City Museum yesterday ahead of the July Grand Départ.

The event, organised by the Millennium Square attraction in conjunction with The Grammar School at Leeds, saw Tour de France mapping games, wire bike workshops, static bikes and Le Tour chocolate making sessions take over the museum.

The fun day came as Welcome to Yorkshire called on cycling enthusiasts across the county to join in the Yorkshire Festival 2014 arts celebration from March 27.

The festival’s executive producer, Henrietta Duckworth, said: “If you’re already a cyclist, take part and get involved.”

Opportunities include joining the illuminated Ghost Peloton cycling light show outside The Tetley, in Leeds, in May; delivering a yellow conductor’s baton to brass bands as part of the mobile Tour de Brass concert; and donating old bike parts to the Tour de Force Bicycle Orchestra where they could be turned into instruments.

For more information visit www.yorkshirefestival.co.uk.

More than 1,000 children, parents and grandparents have gone cycling-mad at Leeds City Museum.

The We Love Tour de France family fun day, organised by the Millennium Square attraction in conjunction with The Grammar School at Leeds, saw Tour de France mapping games, wire bike workshops, medal design and Le Tour chocolate making sessions takeover the landmark city centre museum yesterday.

Youngsters were invited to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the iconic race by getting creative and exploring the museum’s many exhibits with a new appreciation for the mechanics behind bicycles.

Sue Davies, head of learning at Leeds Museums and Galleries, said: “It was aimed at everybody, we had under fives to their parents and their grandparents coming along – one visitor was in his late 60s.

“It’s really been about inspiring people with that sense of awe about what is in the world around them.”

The event also saw visitors test their pedal power by taking the Kidney Research UK charity’s challenge on static bicycles.

Ms Davies said: “It’s a real profile raising event.

“Obviously it’s only February and the Tour doesn’t happen until July, so it will add to the anticipation and place it on people’s agendas even more.”

Coun Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council’s executive member for leisure and skills, added: “The arrival of the Grand Depart in our city later this year has really captured the imagination.”

Visit www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries for further information.

Cycling while wearing a remote-controlled light suit in the middle of the night might not be your every day commute.

But organisers of the Yorkshire Festival 2014, the first pre-Tour de France arts festival, are appealing for riders to don the outfits as part of a peloton of 50 illuminated cyclists to help make one of the spectacular events on its programme a reality.

The choreographed Ghost Peloton ride, put together by Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre and NVA in partnership with charity Sustrans, will take place outside The Tetley on May 16 and 17 in the build up to the Grand Depart on July 5 and 6.

The evening light show is one of 47 projects that forms the £2m arts festival’s programme, which features dozens of opportunities for cycling enthusiasts to become part of the celebration from March 27 onwards.

Paul Osborne, of Sustrans in Yorkshire, said: “This will be a stunning celebration of cycling; creating images and memories which will last long after the Tour comes to Yorkshire.

“With the peloton made up in part by Sustrans volunteers and following sections of the National Cycle Network, we are delighted to play our part by engaging with the local cycling community.”

Volunteer marshals and riders are needed for rehearsals and two days of performances in Leeds, while joining the peloton project could raise the prospect of becoming a longer term member of the touring performance piece.

Creative director of the Ghost Peloton, Angus Farquhar, said: “It is a simple but profound way to experience the beauty and intensity of road racing.”

Festival organisers Welcome to Yorkshire are also appealing for riders to give other planned performances and art installations a rolling start.

Opportunities include delivering a yellow conductor’s baton to brass bands as part of the mobile Tour de Brass concert, sending cycling photos to be part of the Bicyclism exhibition at Leeds City Museum and donating old bike parts to the Tour de Force Bicycle Orchestra where they may be turned into instruments.

Henrietta Duckworth, executive producer of festival, said “The festival is a brilliant celebration of culture and cycling happening indoors and outdoors in all parts of the county.

“The activities will appeal to riders of all ages and abilities so if you’re already a cyclist, take part and get involved. If you’re inspired by the Grand Depart coming to Yorkshire but don’t already ride, come along to experience everything cycling and the festival has to offer.”

The Yorkshire Festival will feature art forms such as theatre, craft work, sculpture and land art across the county from March 27 to July 6. It will tee up the Grand Depart’s Leeds to Harrogate stage one race on July 5 and the York to Sheffield stage two race the following day.

Visit www.yorkshirefestival.co.uk for details or email volunteers-yorks@sustrans.org.uk to get involved with the Ghost Peloton.