THE massive success of Yorkshire staging the Grand Départ of the Tour de France has landed Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity a top cycling award.
Mr Verity (pictured) was today named as the winner of the 2014 C A Rhodes Memorial by the Yorkshire Cycling Federation.
In their citation, the award trustees state: "His vision of bringing the Tour de France Grand Départ to Yorkshire and his drive and determination to lead his team to a successful execution have raised the profile of Yorkshire as a tourist destination, as an area capable of hosting world class events and has massively increased participation in cycling.
"Organised cycling within the county of Yorkshire is now enjoying unprecedented popularity; we are proud to be Yorkshire cyclists and to have witnessed, in the words of TdF race director Christian Prudhomme 'the grandest of Grand Départs'.
" The Trustees are honoured to be able to acclaim Gary Verity for this extraordinary success.
The memorial was instigated in 1961 as a tribute to the memory of Charles Arthur Rhodes, co-founder in 1932 of the Yorkshire Cycling Federation, and a nationally recognised timekeeper and administrator.
The award is regarded as the greatest distinction Yorkshire Cycling can bestow and will be presented at the Yorkshire Cycling Federation annual luncheon on February 22, 2015.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel