“We want the village to have a Tour de France presence, so it is remembered.”

The thrill and passion surrounding the summer spectacle remains fresh in the minds of Yorkshire people, and in particular those at the sharp end of the world‘s most famous cycle race.

Addingham was among the many villages in the Bradford district through which the race passed.

The pretty streets were lucky enough to have the cyclists race through twice, on both July 5 And 6, bringing the community together for a weekend celebration.

Across the county, work is ongoing to build on the success of the event, and locally, the need for a legacy, is equally important.

Catherine Coates, chairman of Addingham Parish Council hopes that the planned new professional cycle race to be held in Yorkshire will in future years, visit the village.

“The face that we got the Tour de France twice really put us on the map,” she says.

The council has established a Tour de France committee to discuss future events. “We are looking at the possibility of creating a cycle track around the primary school sports field, ” she says. The council will be seeking financial help to bring this to fruition.

As regional director for ‘Cycle Yorkshire’ - the legacy of the Tour de France - GrahamTitchener sees the future as not simply about encouraging people to cycle, but to reap the benefits of cycling. “It can be seen as part of the solution to deal with inactivity ,” he says. “We work with the NHS and public health bodies around different themes. Cycling can aid economic development, through health, reduction in congestion on our roads, tourism and by encouraging social inclusion.”

He adds: “We want to help deliver and create more opportunities for cycling. What the Grand Depart has given all of us is motivation to build on the inspiration it gave us.”

He cites Addingham as an example. “The community is proactively looking to develop their own cycle strategy.”

Cycle Yorkshire works with 21 local authorities including Bradford. “Each leads locally on what they would like to see and deliver through their own strategy,” says Graham, who is based in York.

“We try and find private sector funding too. A large number of organisations want to be part of this, and some have expressed an interest in helping to develop cycling centres and cycle hubs.”

This could be achieved working with the volunteer section social enterprise. “Such as working with partners Sustrans . Festivals of cycling held in conjunction with the national body British Cycling, could be held enabling people to try out bikes.

“Welcome to Yorkshire has a large membership, which will also want to be part of this,” adds Graham.

“We learned lessons from the Olympics and Paralympics and other major sporting events. The Grand Depart legacy was launched before the event, in Wakefield, an area not included on the route.

The website cycle.yorkshire.com lists objectives to address possible hurdles such as road safety, lack of awareness and confidence, which prevent people cycling, and how to overcome them.

“It is important to have a few tangible things you can see such as the website,” says Graham.

A number of cycling-related apps are also available.

A survey of 2000 people, carried out in Yorkshire, found that 27 per cent of people were encouraged to cycle as a result of the Grand Depart.

Nazaket Ali, advanced practitioner for Bradford Council’s youth service, has been involved with cycling for the past decade and has witnesses the increased enthusiasm for the sport sparked by the Grand Depart.

“We have seen an increasing number of people, especially young people and groups of women taking up the sport,” he says.

He refers to the cycling hub in Lister Park. “Seven years ago we had seven bikes - now we have got 140. People can come to us to have ago. We are trying to minimise the obstacles that might stand in the way, such as affordability, and let people know we are here."

He cites schemes like Bikeability cycling proficiency sessions for schoolchildren for helping build confidence among youngsters. Sky Ride has also been a soaraway success.

Among his plans for this year is to showcase what Bradford has to offer. “We are using the Tour de France as the legacy. It has made people in Bradford really aware of cycling and made them want to participate in it We are still getting enquiries on the back of it.”

MORE BEHIND THE NEWS HEADLINES