Less than a year on from the memorable 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, the county of Yorkshire will once again play host to world-class cycling with the three-day Tour de Yorkshire from 1-3 May 2015.

Comprising a three-stage elite men’s race, one-day women’s race and a range of mass-participation challenge rides, the event will build on the legacy created by the 2014 Grand Depart and ensure that Yorkshire remains firmly on the world cycling map.

The teams

Eighteen teams have been confirmed for the elite men’s event including the cream of the UCI World Tour squads, who will be in peak form after the spring classics and ahead of the first Grand Tour of the year, the Giro d’Italia.

UCI World Tour squads like Team Sky, Team Giant - Alpecin and IAM Cycling will rub shoulders with UCI Continental teams including Team Wiggins, Raleigh GAC and NFTO, while Great Britain Cycling Team will also field a squad of riders who will vie for supremacy against the world’s best trade outfits.

The Great Britain team for Tour de Yorkshire is Germain Burton, Gabriel Cullaigh, Scott Davies, Josh Edmondson, Jake Kelly, Chris Latham, Mark Stewart and Oliver Wood

The squad has a core of up-and-coming local talent, with Gabriel Cullaigh, Oliver Wood and Josh Edmondson all hailing from Yorkshire.

Scott Davies and Jake Kelly, along with Cullaigh, come fresh from the Tour de Loir et Cher UCI 2.2 stage race in France, where they rode for Great Britain alongside podium athletes Steven Burke, Mark Christian and Andy Tennant.

Oliver Wood impressed at the under-23 Scheldeprijs support race in Flanders early in April, finishing fourth in the sprint, while Josh Edmondson returns to the squad after riding in Great Britain colours at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in February.

They will be joined by Londoner Germain Burton who alongside Chris Latham and Mark Stewart performed strongly at the ZLM Roompot Tour in April, supporting team leader Owain Doull, who rides for Team Wiggins in Yorkshire.

It will be the first chance for fans to see 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins riding in Team Wiggins colours, after riding his Team Sky swansong at Paris-Roubaix in April.

Team Giant - Alpecin’s Marcel Kittel will return to UK soil, the formidable German sprinter having won the first yellow jersey of the 2014 Grand Depart into Harrogate.

Dame Sarah Storey will spearhead her Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International squad in the women’s event on 2 May, the 11-time Paralympic champion in great form after taking two world titles on the track in Apeldoorn back in March.

A full list of teams for the event can be found on the Tour de Yorkshire website.

The events

Elite men

The route for the flagship event has been designed to feature more of Yorkshire’s majestic cycling landscapes and further build Yorkshire’s position as a world-class cycling region following the 2014 Grand Depart.

Stage one

Stage one on 1 May will see riders race 174-kilometres from Bridlington to Scarborough, showcasing the region’s stunning coastal and moorland scenery.

The route passes through the mountain biking mecca of Dalby Forest, historic Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay before a seaside sprint on Scarborough’s famous Victorian promenade.

Stage two

Stage two the following day is another 174-kilometres but with a very different flavour. The route from Selby to York takes advantage of the rolling East Yorkshire Wolds, passing through the cycling heartland of Beverley before finishing in the medieval splendour of York.

Stage three

The final stage is a little shorter at 167-kilometres but more than makes up for it with a parcours that is beautiful and brutal in equal measure. Starting in Wakefield, the route delivers six classified climbs, including the famous Cow and Calf before heading to Leeds for the grand finale in Roundhay Park.

Women

The women’s event will be a fast and furious city circuit race around historic York, providing a superb spectacle for race-goers on 2 May. The race will be open to riders from elite to third category and will follow four laps of a 20-kilometre circuit, using the same infrastructure as the men’s stage race finishing in the city later in the day.

Mass participation

The Maserati Tour de Yorkshire ride will take place on the same day and the same roads as stage three of the elite men’s event, giving ordinary riders a chance to test themselves against the same challenging parcours as the pros.

The sportive, which is expected to see 6000 participants, will feature three distances alongside a women-only Cycletta event.

How to follow the event

• Daily reports, results and images will appear on the British Cycling website
• TV coverage will be provided by ITV and Eurosport. Full details are available on the Tour de Yorkshire website.
• Follow the Tour de Yorkshire on Twitter (#TdY) and Facebook 

More information

Full information on the events, including spectator guides and route details are available at the Tour de Yorkshire website.