Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe Parish Council
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Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe
Saturday 5th May A GREAT DAY
The 2018 Tour de Yorkshire cycle race comes back to Sutton!
Yes, we are on the route for the second time. The race is a professional cycling event in the global calendar. Yorkshire took the Tour de France cyclists to its heart when it hosted the Grand Départ in 2014. The very next year this enthusiastic hospitality spun off into the Tour de Yorkshire, which instantly became a fixture in the cycle-racing year. Sutton was on the route in 2016. You probably remember the day. It rained and it was cold.And even so, hundreds of us waved them through the village or were on Sutton Bank to cheer them along, with bunting, balloons, bikes, painted alpacas, a penny-farthing, pompoms growing on trees, land art, drinks, snacks and partying. On Saturday 5th May this year, the speeding peloton will be back.
2.2 million spectators turned out in 2017 to encourage the riders along the three-day route. The 2018 event is even bigger. The men are racing for four days over 711 km (442 miles) from May 3rd to 6th. TheAsda women’s race is 256.5 km (159 miles) over two days on May 4th and 5th.
Sutton’s Race Day is the third Market Towns stage for the men on Saturday 5th May. They ride a 184 km route, from Richmond through Leyburn and Northallerton to Thirsk, (briefly) visit SUTTON in the early afternoon, enter the North York Moors National Park and climb the formidable Sutton Bank, stream through Helmsley, Pickering, Filey and finish at Scarborough’s North Bay.
You probably remember the ‘rolling’ road closures of around a couple of hours that keep the race route clear and safe. They are very efficiently policed. We will receive advance notice of times for you to plan your travel and minimise disruption.
The whole race will be shown on ITV4 and Euro Sport. Motorcycle and helicopter cameras will add close-up speed and bird’s-eye breadth to the images of men’s and women’s races, both of which will be fully covered. Across the world, 34 broadcasters in 180 territories will present the race (and Yorkshire) (and Sutton) to an estimated 9.7 million TV viewers. It is a very big event. As well as the drama of the race, the broadcasts showcase Yorkshire’s beautiful landscape, towns, villages and historic buildings to this huge audience.
Once again there is a Land Art competition. With luck, see our land art viewed from the helicopter cameras.
We are also enteringSutton for the Best Dressed Village competition! We were praised for our 2016 decoration so let’s build on that. This is a party - dressing up is in order. We would like Sutton looking its absolute carnival best - clean, kempt and decorated. We have bunting in yellow and blue stored from last time and will be lending it again for hanging along the route (details to follow and first come first served). If you have your own bunting supply, add that too. We will provideballoons with the third newsletter for last-minute inflation. Bring out your flags from the loft or the shed. The “bikes” will have another outing on the village name signs, and a template is available if you would like to cut out your own wooden bike. We will source paint in the Tour de Yorkshire colours of blue and yellow for bike artists to use. Perhaps decorate your own old bike. Wheel Art is another possibility - dressing bike wheels for display. In fact, roadside celebration of the race and the village in any (safe and secure) form is welcome and the more original the better.
Putting up bunting could be a good opportunity to give a neighbour a hand if needed. Also we would appreciate your having a look at the area round your house, when you decorate it. Litter-picking and a general tidy-up would help the village look its very best.
For detailed information on all aspects of the race, go online. Explore Welcome to Yorkshire at and If you feel like riding some of the route yourself, look at the website forthe Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride to register. Thirsk Information Centre will do what it’s good at, too - for local details see Keep an eye on for updates from the Parish Council. To get a sense of the race and the day, come along to a Village Hall coffee morning on 14th and 28th April, 10.00 - 12.00,where we will play a loop of video compilation from earlier racesand our own collection of photographs from 2016. You and/or your house may feature!
On Race Day, come along to the Village Hallto see a big screen projection of the television coverage. Bring family and friends to follow the race from a comfy seat and nip out in time to cheer the peloton through. See the enclosed Village Hall newsletter as well.
The official charity this year is Yorkshire Air Ambulance. We all know their yellow helicopter andtheir amazing work needs little introduction, but they are completely reliant on fund-raising. Perhaps your event could raise some money for them as well as providing fun for the day. You can look for details of their work on
We will be delivering two more newsletters to all parishioners before the RaceDay, and we can include details of your event. Let us know your ideas. To make suggestions, or to share your proposals, or for more information,ring Alison on 01845 597761 or email
Enclosed with this newsletter is a Welcome to Yorkshire window sticker for your house or your car. The sooner you can display it, the better. So put the date in your diary.Saturday 5th May.
One change of date to note, as well - to avoid clashing with preparations for the race, our planned CPR refresher training will move from April to October - details to follow.