THOUSANDS of cycling fans are expected to line Barnsley’s streets next Friday to cheer on riders in the Tour de Yorkshire.
It will begin on Thursday and, for the men, finish next Sunday, but it is day two which will see the eyes of the world fall on Barnsley when the starting line will be in front of Barnsley town hall.
The Tour de Yorkshire came about after Yorkshire hosted the Grand Depart for the world-famous Tour De France in 2014.
The shorter women’s race will set off from outside the town hall at 9am, followed by the men at 2.20pm.
Their route covers the town centre, Barugh Green, Cawthorne and Silkstone, Penistone, Oxspring, Thurgoland, Hood Green, Worsbrough, Blacker Hill, Hoyland and Elsecar before heading towards Doncaster and finishing in Ilkley.
The Tour De Yorkshire ‘caravan’ will travel ahead of riders in a parade of specially decorated vehicles.
Celebrations will continue in the town centre with the best musical acts from across Barnsley performing at the In Gear Festival which has been been put together with the help of the organisers of Barnsley Live, One Over the Eight.
Acts will perform between 10.30am and 4pm on the Mandela Gardens stage, and 00Bar, The Garrison, Annie Murray’s, Soul Lounge, White Bear and Old No 7 will see artists perform between 2.30pm and 8pm.
Artisan food stalls will be on hand to serve food and drink.
Elsecar is hoping to win the ‘best dressed village’ and villagers have been encouraged to turn buildings and roadsides into a mass of blue and yellow by trimming up with flags, bunting, tassels and streamers.
Over in Platts Common, a huge 90 by 130 metre kestrel made from white fabric strips will be visible in Crown Platts recreation ground. It will form a geometric representation of Kes from the Barnsley-based novel A Kestrel for a Knave which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year.
Volunteers are needed to reveal the final image by rolling out the fabric across the field on Thursday between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
To enable the race to pass through Barnsley, a number of road closures will be in place. Most of the town centre roads will be closed on Friday, with Church Street, St Mary’s Gate and Sadler Gate closing from 10pm on Thursday.
Barnsley Council is thought to have invested more than £100,000 patching up roads which make up the Tour de Yorkshire race route.
- A special Tour de Yorkshire pull-out guide is included with this week’s Chronicle.
