Tour de France Femmes 'will boost women's cycling'

More than a decade since painted bikes popped up on street corners across Yorkshire, the county is set to once again host the world's biggest cycle race.

This time it is the turn of the women, who will be at the start line in Leeds for the prestigious Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart in 2027 - and will finish the second stage of the race in Sheffield.

In Otley, at the cycling club where British world champion Lizzie Deignan began her racing career, the announcement has been hailed as a huge boost that will encourage more women and girls to try the sport.

Cyclist Sam Edwards said: "You've got to see it to be it, and it's going to be so inspirational."

Edwards, who is women's officer for Otley Cycling Club, recalled how in 2014 millions of people turned out by the roadside to support the male riders in the Tour de France Grand Depart.

"If we can get anything like those numbers for the women's races, then that's going to be a huge boost to women and girls looking to start cycling," she said.

"For women's cycling, there's still this huge discrepancy between what's shown and what's accessible for men and what's accessible for women."

Club members said the fact that female cyclists who compete at the very highest level were coming to Yorkshire for the start of the race in July 2027 reinforced the growing momentum of the sport across the county.

Rebecca Middlebrook said: "Yorkshire has always been a hot bed of cycling.

"We've got fantastic scenery, fantastic roads, great coaching network for youngsters to come through.

"There's a real crop of young talent coming through... they're really on it and are stars for the future."

The race will see female cyclists set off from the city and take a route across the Pennines to Manchester.

The next day they will leave Manchester and head through the Peak district to end in Sheffield.

In Leeds city centre - not far from where crowds lined the streets in 2014 for the men's race - people shared their excitement about the announcement.

Leeds Beckett University student Rosa Oyan, 18, said: "It's a huge privilege that it's coming here and the fact that it's the women, it's something I definitely would want to go and watch."

Meanwhile, Adam Jones said: "There's a bigger push, now more than ever, to see more equal representation of women in sport, so this is great for the city to do this."

In South Yorkshire, Pete Sparks, owner of Bank View Café in Langsett, where the riders raced past in 2014, said it was "absolutely fantastic" that the event was returning to the region.

"The atmosphere on the day back then was amazing, it was one big party," he said.

Sparks provided one of the most memorable spectacles of the Tour after he painted the exterior of his cafe in Tour de France-themed polka dots just weeks before.

He said he had continued to see the positive impact the event had had on his business.

"If they can garner that support again - and there's no reason why not - then it will be great for the region."