Here at Nuwave Display, as well as branding and signage, we’re passionate about sport and the local area, so we were thrilled that Welcome to Yorkshire decided to go ahead with a second year of the Tour de Yorkshire. Not only was the tour a great celebration of sport, but a fantastic advert for Yorkshire and its people who were out in full force to support the event, braving the wind and rain at times to take to the streets of Yorkshire to cheer the peloton on.
The first stage was from Beverley to Settle, and after an early drop out from Bradley Wiggins, it was Team LootoNL-Jumbo’s Dylan Groenewegen who took the lead. The next day saw the race depart Otley to Doncaster, with the Women’s race taking place before the men’s. World champion Lizzie Armistead and fellow British rider Lucy Garner were out in front for much of the race as part of a breakaway pack, led by Switzerland’s Doris Schweizer. But as the peloton caught up to the pack, Kirsten Wild was able to beat Garner to the finish line in an exciting sprint finish, winning by a bike’s length. Garner came in second, and with four other British riders finishing in the top ten this was a great day for women’s British cycling – well done ladies!
The men’s stage 2 was won by Wild’s compatriot Danny van Poppel in what turned out to be quite a similar race to the women’s earlier in the day. A breakaway group was eventually caught up by the peloton, with van Poppel holding off fellow Dutchman and stage 1 winner Groenewegen to cross the finish line first.
The final stage favoured the hill climbers amongst the cyclists, starting at Middlesbrough and heading high up into the North Yorkshire moors to finish in Scarborough. With 6 climbs and wet blustery conditions, this was a gruelling 198km stage. Nicolas Roche led heading into the home straight in Scarborough, but it was Thomas Voeckler who stole the lead over the last 300 metres after some clever tactics and a lapse in concentration from Roche, winning the tour overall in the process, with British rider Adam Yates finishing in 3rdon the day.
The tour was another great success for Welcome to Yorkshire, who have done a fantastic job running and promoting the event. We have worked with Welcome to Yorkshire and its affiliates on numerous occasions, having supplied a range of bespoke signage from PVC banners and mesh banners, to pop up gazebos and branded tablecloths. It is always a pleasure to work with Welcome to Yorkshire, supplying large mesh PVC banners and roller banners for their previous cycling related events, such as the Bike Libraries initiative, which encourages people to donate unwanted bikes in the hope of giving free access to bikes to every child in Yorkshire.
Over the course of the tour it was great to see so many branding displays, banners and flags on view along with all the homemade decorations, together with the fabulous Yorkshire crowds it makes the Tour De Yorkshire such a wonderfully unique event. The success of this years’ Tour has hopefully gone a long way to cementing its place in the cycling calendar, so role on 2017!
You can see some brilliant photos from the Tour de Yorkshire 2016 here, as well as some of the signage on display. If you are running an event (cycling or otherwise) and would like help or advice in successful branding, then get in touch today – we would be delighted to help you.