With less than 100 days to go until the fifth edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, Welcome to Yorkshire has revealed the top 10 qualities it is searching for when recruiting Tour Makers – volunteers to support this year’s race.
They are looking for people who are:
• Passionate about Yorkshire
• Welcoming
• Reliable
• Friendly
• Fun
• Organised
• Approachable
• Caring
• Enthusiastic
• Energetic
This year’s race takes place between Thursday May 2nd – Sunday May 5th. The men’s action runs across the full four days while the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race takes place on the Friday and Saturday.
1,300 volunteer Tour Makers are needed to help make sure the event runs smoothly and ensure ‘every spectator gets a fantastic Yorkshire welcome’.
Tour Makers – supported by Sky Betting & Gaming – are important to the success of the race, acting as ambassadors for both the Tour and the county, as well as promoting diversity and inclusion at the event. There are a number of roles on offer and full details on how to apply can be found online… https://letouryorkshire.com/tour-makers
Nicky Busby from Garforth in Leeds has been a Tour Maker every year since the 2014 Tour de France started in Yorkshire. She said: “What a spectacle! Every year the Tour de Yorkshire gets bigger and better. People travel from miles around to watch it and the atmosphere is always electric. I love how the routes change to ensure that the whole of Yorkshire gets the chance to embrace this amazing cycling event.
“Communities seem to grasp the opportunity to dress up their hometowns with window displays, signs, bicycles and bunting, with children playing a huge part in the decorating process.”
She continued, “The race isn’t just about the cycling, it’s something much deeper that brings families and communities together before, during and after the event. I have volunteered with some amazing people and I am pleased to say that many Tour Makers have become great friends.”
Rachel Moyes from Bradford has also been a Tour Maker every year. She said “I became a Tour Maker in 2014 for the Grand Départ and that decision changed my life in a hugely positive way. I have been part of the Tour Maker family ever since, met lots of new people, and my confidence has grown as a result. I love helping with the crowds and have got to know a lot of the Welcome to Yorkshire team too. I’m so excited for this year’s race!”
Sir Gary Verity DL, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said “We simply couldn’t run the Tour de Yorkshire without our brilliant Tour Makers. They provide great support for the Welcome to Yorkshire team making sure everyone who comes to watch the race has the best-possible experience, and that everything runs nice and smoothly. We’re immensely grateful for their time and dedication and the race just wouldn’t be the same without them.”
The Tour de Yorkshire was launched in 2015 as a legacy of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ. It is organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The men’s race holds a 2.HC UCI Europe Tour classification. The Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race was awarded 2.1 status in 2016.
A reported 2.6 million spectators lined the route for the 2018 edition, up from 2.2 million in 2017. The 2018 edition was watched by 12.5 million TV viewers in 190 countries. The 2018 edition generated an estimated £98 million for the Yorkshire economy.
The race is supported by Yorkshire Bank, Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries, Asda, LNER, Dimension Data, Le Coq Sportif, Mavic, Tissot, Named Sport, Mug Shot, Soreen, Gateley PLC, Sky Betting & Gaming, Black Sheep and Global.
