Tour de Yorkshire trophy comes to Otley

Otley residents will be able to get a piece of the Tour de Yorkshire action when the official trophy tours the town later this week.

The Tour de Yorkshire trophy will make a whistle-stop tour around Otley on Friday 22 April. The town will be hosting the start of stage two of the men’s race, as well as the first ever women’s race – both on Saturday 30 April.

The trophy which will be presented to the winner of the men’s race at the finale in Scarborough on Sunday 1 May, will tour key places around Otley to give local residents a chance to see it close at hand.

The trophy will begin its tour at Otley Core, Orchard Gate at 10.30am, before moving on to Otley Courthouse, Courthouse Street at 11.30am. The next stop of the tour will be Buttercross, Kirkgate at 12.30pm and then on to Woolpack Music and Arts Studio, Bondgate at 2.30pm. The final stop of the trophy tour will be Otley Cycle Club, Wellcroft House at 4pm.

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council said:

“This is a chance to see the magnificent trophy close at hand, which will eventually be awarded to the winner after this grueling three day event.

“This year’s Tour de Yorkshire will be another great and exciting sporting event, helping to put our region firmly on the national and international map. Leeds and Otley have a proud history of producing excellent cycling talent and I’m sure the community will have a fantastic time when the tour comes to town”

Otley Town Mayor Councillor Philip Bye said:

“The excitement is building in Otley ahead of the Tour de Yorkshire, so it is great that all our residents will have the opportunity to see the winner’s trophy up close. Otley is a cycling town and home to World Champion Lizzie Armitstead and I am sure our community are looking forward to supporting Lizzie and this fantastic event.”

 Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:

“Having such a beautiful trophy reflects on Yorkshire itself as well as the race. I’m delighted it will be off on its travels and visiting towns and villages along the route before returning to Scarborough on race weekend.”

The trophy, designed and made by hand at world leading trophy makers Thomas Fattorini Ltd, was won by Team Sky’s Lars Petter Nordhaug in 2015.

A new addition for 2016 is a women’s race trophy, also being made by Fattorini’s. The women’s trophy will be awarded to the winner of the one-day race which takes place in Otley, the home town of women’s world road race champion Lizzie Armitstead.

Notes to editors:

• Thomas Fattorini Ltd was originally founded in Yorkshire in 1827 by Antonio Fattorini
• At the turn of the twentieth century Fattorini’s, then known Fattorini & Sons of Bradford, made the FA Cup trophy which Bradford City won that very first year in 1911. The company also made the Rugby League Challenge Cup.
• Tour de Yorkshire is a Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY) / Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) race in association with British Cycling which holds a 2.1 European Tour UCI Classification.
• The Tour de Yorkshire is an annual international race with a new route through Yorkshire each year. It forms part of the legacy of the historic Yorkshire Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2014, along with the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries which aim to offer every child in Yorkshire access to a bike.
• For further information about Tour de Yorkshire please  including full race times and route details, interactive maps, images and information on how to get involved visit the official event website at www.letour.yorkshire.com
• For media enquiries about Tour de Yorkshire contact: Hannah Bryan – Press Officer at Welcome to Yorkshire Email: hbryan@yorkshire.com Phone: 0113 322 3578