Yorkshire misses out on the chance to host major cycling event

Tourism bosses at Welcome to Yorkshire, who were behind the county’s successful bid to host the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, announced on Thursday that it had put the region in the running to host the world class cycling event after the French city of Nice pulled out following the Bastille Day terror attacks.

Brittany, which was in pole position to replace Nice, will host the event, the Union Europeenne de Cyclisme (UEC) announced on Saturday.

The President of UEC David Lappartient said: “We are very grateful to our friends in Yorkshire for offering to step in. Yorkshire has hosted many fantastic events recently

and we wish them all the best for the Tour de Yorkshire in the future. We are pleased to have found a solution in Brittany and are sure the event will be a huge success."

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive, Sir Gary Verity, said: “I would like to congratulate Brittany on their successful bid to host the UEC Road European

Championships.

“When we heard that our friends in Nice had decided to step back from hosting the event we immediately took action and devised a plan to ensure that Yorkshire could

step in and help out, but we support the UEC’s decision to keep it in France.”

The championships, which have been solely run for junior and under-23 riders since 1995, had been due to host elite riders such as Vincezo Nibali and Alberto Contador for the first time in their history this year.

The event takes place over five days and encompass men’s and women’s road race and time trial disciplines.