Yorkshire 2019 to stage major Para cycling event

The organisers of the Yorkshire 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Great Britain have announced that a full day of Para cycling events will take place alongside the Championships for the first time.

On Saturday 21 September, the first day of the nine-day race programme, Para cycling races covering every classification will take place from the start towns of Beverley, Tadcaster and Wetherby. All races will finish in Harrogate.

The races - which will take place soon after the 2019 UCI Para cycling Road World Championships in the Netherlands - will provide all important qualification points towards the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Yorkshire 2019 Chair Chris Pilling said: “We have pledged to deliver an inclusive, innovative and inspiring UCI Road World Championships that brings the world closer. We are therefore enormously excited to be the first host to integrate Para cycling into the programme.”

Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Sir Gary Verity DL said: “This will be the most inclusive and diverse Championships ever held and cement Yorkshire’s place as a world-class cycling destination.

“The countdown is now well and truly on and there will be many people in Yorkshire and across Britain who are looking forward to this iconic event. We can promise huge, passionate crowds, stunning scenery and epic racing.”

After the announcement was made at the 2018 UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, on Wednesday (26 September), Para cyclists around the world took to social media to share their delight.

Ireland’s Colin Lynch, a Rio 2016 road time-trial silver medallist, tweeted: “Some freakin’ amazing news!!!! Yorkshire 2019 World Champs will feature a day of Paracyling road races – with points counting towards Tokyo qualification. An excellent chance for Paracycling riders to race in front of some big crowds!

“Incredible to see the inclusion of Para cycling in next year’s World Championships! Fantastic move forward to the future! So hoping I get to be there,” tweeted Australia’s Carol Cooke, a winner of three Paralympic cycling titles.

Great Britain’s most successful Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey also shared her delight on Twitter: “Truly sensational news that Para Cycling events (for Tokyo qualification points) will feature ahead of the start of the Road Worlds in Yorkshire!”

The Yorkshire 2019 Championships are receiving unprecedented financial backing with the UK Government and UK Sport committing GBP 12 million to deliver a truly world-class event. A further GBP 15 million has been allocated to develop entry-level cycling facilities across England. This commitment means that the 2019 UCI Road World Championships will deliver a legacy that will transform the sporting fabric of the country.