Yorkshire cycling website
17th January 2019, updated 6th March & 16th May 2019
The official sportive at the 2019 UCI road World Championships takes place on Sunday 22nd September 2019, and starts and finishes in Harrogate.
The event is open to 5,000 people, and due to 'an overwhelming response', more places may be made available. It will take place on large sections of the professional courses. (It's open roads, not closed roads). Finishers will get medals.
Later that Sunday, the mixed team time trial will be raced in Harrogate - making what the organisers call 'the perfect day of cycling'.
There are three routes - 145km, 98km, and 72km. All three will include the Harrogate circuit.
On the long route, you'll do the Harrogate circuit, then head north to Ripley, and west to Pateley Bridge. Leaving Pateley Bridge, you climb Greenhow Hill.
After Greenhow, the route continues to Grassington.
Next comes the classic Yorkshire Dales loop - to Kettlewell and Buckden, then up Kidstones Pass, before a long descent into Bishopdale.
West Burton marks the bottom of Bishopdale, and you continue in Wensleydale to Leyburn. Then it's south via East Witton to Masham. The route now avoids the main road and takes minor roads instead via Kirkby Malzeard and Risplith to Ripley, then on to the finish in Harrogate.
This is the profile of the route:
There's a video preview of the long route with Dani Rowe:
The medium route is the same as the long route as far as Pateley Bridge. From Pateley, you head up past Gouthwaite reservoir to Lofthouse, and then the climb of the Côte de Lofthouse (Trapping Hill) begins. It's quite short but very sharp.
After descending the other side of the climb you continue to Masham, and re-join the long route there.
This is the profile of the route:
The short route begins in the same way as the other two, but it turns off at Glasshouses, just before Pateley Bridge. It takes in some lovely roads across Pateley Moor and Dallow Moor, on the way to Kirkby Malzeard.
It rejoins the other routes at Kirkby Malzeard.
This is the profile of the short route:
The ballot for places was open from 4th to 20th March 2019, with allocation of places announced around 4th April. As mentioned above, the number of people wanting to take part far exceeded 5,000, and at the time of writing (May 2019), the organisers say they are working on increasing the maximum number of participants.
The prices are:
(*The organisers have excluded a 7.5% booking fee from the headline price, but I haven't. Note to event organisers everywhere: please state the full price; people just want to know how much it costs).
You could pay more (£95.68) to bypass the ballot and get guaranteed entry.
Parking is at the Great Yorkshire Showground, and costs £10. It is a good location, as it will be easy to get to the start of the sportive, and the ride finishes at the Showground.
The £10 fee includes entry (for 2 adults and 2 children) to the Yorkshire Cycle Expo, at the Yorkshire Event Centre (part of the Yorkshire Showground).
Sir Gary Verity said, 'The UCI road World Championships in Yorkshire this year will be one of those 'where were you when' moments, so to be one of the 5,000 amateur cyclists taking part in the official sportive, riding on the same roads as the professionals, in front of massive crowds, will be an unforgettable experience.'
7th January 2019
Sir Gary Verity says 2019 will be huge for Harrogate, as it will be the centre of the cycling world. He wants local businesses to seize the opportunity.
Read about Verity: 2019 huge for Harrogate.
There's 9 days of racing altogether at the UCI 2019 road World Championships on Yorkshire.
Starting with para-cycling road races on Saturday 21st September 2019 and the mixed team time trial on Sunday 22nd September, there are then junior and under 23 races during the week, as well as the elite women's and men's time trials.
The culmination of the racing is the weekend of 28th and 29th September, when the women's and men's road races take place.
Read about UCI 2019 events and routes.
