Yorkshire misses out on hosting September's European Road Championships

Yorkshire will not host this September's European Road Championships, with the northern French region of Brittany instead chosen.

The championships were scheduled to be held in the French city of Nice but the terror attacks on Bastille Day, and the ensuing heightened terror threat, meant that they withdrew from hosting the event.

Four bids were put forward to host the rescheduled event, with Yorkshire joining Italian hopefuls Trentino and Marche alongside Brittany as the candidates.

It was thought that organisers Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) were keen on keeping the event within France and on Saturday morning confirmed the assumption. The competition will run from September 14-18, with all races taking place from the town of Plumelec.

>>> European road cycling championships in Nice cancelled due to terror threat

The men and women's road races will follow the same route as the GP Plumelec-Morbihan, won most latterly by Sam Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale).

The races will end with a summit finish to Côte de Cadoudal, a 1.8km climb with an average gradient of 7.8 percent. It has been used in the Tour de France four times, most recently in 2015 in a team time trial on stage nine, won by BMC. 

David Lappartient, UEC President, said: "We would like to convey our sincere thanks to the town of Plumelec in the department of Morbihan, in East Brittany and the government who have stepped in to organise these Road European Cycling Championships following the withdrawal of the city of Nice.

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"Brittany has loyal and passionate cycling fans and we are delighted to offer a quality venue to host the 1st European Professional Championships. In these special circumstances the UEC and its partners will do everything in its power to deliver a great event to the 50 European Federations, to the 800 riders and to all cycling fans.

"I [would] also like to thank our friends from Yorskshire, Trentino and Marche for their bids. Yorkshire hosted magnificent events lately and we wish them every success for the Tour of Yorkshire. Trentino, great cycling region has for years demonstrated exceptional organizational skills as well as the city of Offida (Marche). All these bids demonstrate the attractiveness of Road Cycling European Championships."