Gary Verity insists Tour de Yorkshire stage two was still a success

Technical problems twice grounded a plane, meaning both the women's Tour de Yorkshire and stage two of the men's race were run off with minimal TV coverage

(Image credit: Andy Jones)

Tens of thousands of people were out watching the Tour de Yorkshire today. Both the men's and women's races were cheered on, despite inclement weather, by crowds that appeared to outnumber those of the Grand Départ two years ago.

Today is a success story, said Sir Gary Verity. "We saw these crowds in towns all along the route. Tens of thousands of people. Just remarkable, I don't know where they come from. The weather wasn't particularly brilliant, but we still got these enormous crowds."

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Simon Richardson
Magazine editor

Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. He fell in love with cycling 1989 when watching the Tour de France on Channel 4, started racing in 1995 and in 2000 he spent one season racing in Belgium. During his time at CW (and Cycle Sport magazine) he has written product reviews, fitness features, pro interviews, race coverage and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. He became the 130-year-old magazine's 13th editor in 2015.