The Bank Holiday weekend of May 2016 saw the second “Tour de Yorkshire” cycling event taking place in Yorkshire.

On Friday 29th April 2016 the men’s race started out in the East Yorkshire market town of Beverley from where the cyclists travelled through the gently rolling countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds to Market Weighton and then on to Riccall and Tadcaster in the Vale of York. It was then on to Knaresborough and along LowerNidderdale to Pateley Bridge with the first “King of the Mountains” climb at Greenhow Hill, the pink jersey for the day being won by One Pro Cycling’s Pete Williams (who comes from nearby Skipton and won the day’s grey jersey for “combativity” too).

The peloton then descended in to Grassington and through Cracoe and Hetton, Gargrave, Coniston Cold, Hellifield and Long Preston to finish (via a sprint loop out to Giggleswick Scar) in Settle.

The first stage was won by Dylan Groenewegen of the Netherlands for Team LottoNL-Jumbo.

The second stage of the men’s race took place the following day, with the riders setting off from Otley to Harewood and Pontefract to finish the day at Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

There was also a women’s race which took place on the same route the same day
competing, though unfortunately there were technical problems with relaying live coverage of this and the men’s event too. Hitec Products’ Kirsten Wild won the women’s race, while Team Sky’s Dutch Danny van Poppel took Stage Two for the men.

The men’s racing continued on the third and final day, with the third stage starting out from Middlesborough on the Yorkshire Coast and heading inland through Guisborough and Great Ayton down to Northallerton and Thirsk in the Vale of Mowbray.  From there came the “Category One” climb up Sutton Bank and on to Helmsley in Ryedale, Kirkbymoorside and Hutton le Hole before another strenuous climb up over Blakeley Ridge and down in to Grosmont to meet the Yorkshire Coast at Whitby.

The rest of the route ran along the Yorkshire Coast southwards through Robin Hood’s Bay to the final finishing line at Scarborough, with Direct Energie’s Thomas Voeckler both the winner of the stage and also the full three day race overall as well.