Ey up lad, there be lads on bikes

Tour of Britain on Ilkley Moor

Yeah the 2014 Grand Depart of the Tour de France will come to Yorkshire. The first two days of racing will feature the county on 5 and 6 July before a stage down to London where the third days racing will end.

It is the fourth time that the Tour has visited Britain after trips in 1974 for a stage two loop around Plymouth, 1994 when after stage 3 went from Calais to the Eurotunnel. stage 4 took the Tour from Dover to Brighton and then stage 5 for a loop around Portsmouth, 2007 saw the Grand Depart with a time trail around Hyde Park in London, followed by a stage down to Canterbury which David Miller did his best to try and win.

This time with three days racing on English soil it is the longest sojourn unto British soil in one visit of the races history a reflection of how successful and popular cycling now is in the UK.

Yorkshire had beaten off bids from Florence and Edinburgh, but race officials have not ruled out a visit to Sir Chris Hoy's home city at come point in the near future so the Tour may well be back.

There may be a new verse to On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at  that needs adding, maybe.

Then t'lad in yella cycled past