Routes for the 2020 editions of the Tour de Yorkshire and ASDA Tour de Yorkshire Women's Race have been unveiled in a presentation today at Leeds Civic Hall.
The sixth edition of the men's race, which will form part of the new ProSeries calendar – its 2.Pro classification the highest rank outside the WorldTour – will run from April 30 to May 3. Meanwhile, the women's race, now in its fifth year, will once again run adjacent to stages 2 and 3 of the men's race, on May 1 and 2.
The 2020 race, the sixth for the men and fifth for the women, has been called the hardest Tour de Yorkshire yet. With the men's race featuring 17 classified climbs and the women's featuring seven, it's set to feature the most climbing of any edition of the race.
"It's exciting for me to be involved with the Tour de Yorkshire for the very first time and this year’s route look fantastic," said Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, James Mason.
"Many of our county’s iconic climbs are included, and we’re particularly pleased to see Buttertubs and Grinton Moor making appearances after they were unfortunately cut from the World Championships route on account of the weather last September.
"Seeing the men and women tackle Shibden Wall will also be special, and we're delighted to be bringing the race to so many new places as well. We're lucky to have such a diversity of landscapes here in Yorkshire and these races will have something for every type of rider. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure we're in for some really exciting action."
Stage 1 of the men's race, christened the 'Yorkshire coast stage', takes in 176.5km from Beverley to Redcar, passing through Bridlington and Whitby and featuring two categorised climbs along the way. The market town of Beverley hosts the race start for the third time after 2016 and 2018.
Stage 2 for the men, and stage 1 for the women, will run from Skipton to Leyburn, both new as start and finish locations. The stages feature two categorised climbs, 1,747m of climbing, and an uphill finish.
Barnsley hosts the start of stage 3 of the men's race and the final stage of the women's race, with Huddersfield hosting the finish. The stage is set to be decisive in the Women's Tour de Yorkshire, with five climbs and 2,422m of climbing along the 114.5km stage. The men will face six climbs and 2,863m of climbing.
The Côte de Todmorden (2.5km at 10.4 per cent) and the partially-cobbled Côte de Shibden Wall (1km at 13.5 per cent) will be the major challenges of the stage, though the women won't tackle Todmorden.
The final stage of the race runs from Halifax to Leeds, marking the third time in a row the race has finished there. The 177.5km looks the hardest of the race, and features 3,304m of climbing, the most ever in a Tour de Yorkshire stage.
Coming mid-stage, the Côte de Lofthouse (1.7km at 11.4 per cent) is the hardest climb of the day, while the Côte de Otley Chevin (1.6km at 9.9 per cent) lies just 18km from the finish.
"Once again, the team at Welcome to Yorkshire have done a tremendous job in designing such a beautiful, challenging and varied route and I am looking forward to seeing how both races play out," said Christian Prudhomme, dirctor of the Tour de France.
"They are both harder than ever before, and when you factor in the millions of fans that will be lining the route, we know that the 2020 edition will be one to remember."
2020 Tour de Yorkshire route
Stage 1: Beverley - Redcar, 176.5km, Thursday April 30
Stage 2: Skipton - Leyburn, 124.5km, Friday May 1
Stage 3: Barnsley - Huddersfield, 134km, Saturday May 2
Stage 4: Halifax - Leeds, 177.5km, Sunday May 3
2020 Women's Tour de Yorkshire route
Stage 1: Skipton - Leyburn, 124.5km, Friday May 1
Stage 2: Barnsley - Huddersfield, 114.5km, Saturday May 2
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Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.
Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Mark Cavendish, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.
As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40.