A free app, originally launched for the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart, has been updated and extended in preparation for a new event, the 2015 Tour de Yorkshire.
According to British Cycling, more than 95,000 people took part in its registered events in the regions touched by last year’s Tour de France Grand Depart – and total participation across all British Cycling’s recreational programmes increased by 64% in 2014.
Some of the world’s top cyclists will once again be in the county for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, a new international race which takes place over three stages from 1 to 3 May.
The race will put Yorkshire back in the cycling spotlight and thousands of riders are afterwards expected to converge on the county to follow in the tracks of the professionals.
Yorkshire-based semi-pro cyclist Jamie Sharp is the face of the free app Cycle Yorkshire – Ride the Routes.
The app feature maps and flyover footage, as well as information videos showing Jamie Sharp tackling some of the most challenging sections.
The app can be used to follow the routes of the different stages of the Tour de Yorkshire 2015 race, the public events and the first two days of the Grand Depart 2014.
The app was commissioned by Safer Roads Yorkshire and Humber, a regional road safety partnership comprising 95 Alive (City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council), Safer Roads Humber, Safer Roads West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Safer Roads.
Ruth Gore, chair of Safer Roads Yorkshire and Humber cycling group, said: “We want people to explore our beautiful county on their bikes but we want them to do so safely.
“Although cycling is very safe – in fact, only around 11% of all road accidents in the Yorkshire and Humberside region involve pedal cyclists – we don’t want there to be a rise in the number of crashes involving bikes simply because there are more cyclists on our roads, which we expect to be the case after the Tour de Yorkshire.
“We also appreciate that many of those who do come here from outside the county will be completely unfamiliar with the Yorkshire road conditions, landscape and terrain, especially as, unlike during the races, all the roads will be open to other traffic.
“We hope the free app will help all cyclists plan ahead and get the most out of riding the routes, whichever sections they choose to tackle and wherever they come from.
“The general advice is also applicable to any rural cycling – not just the Tour routes.”
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