- The 2019 UCI Road World Championships
are taking place in the UK, more specifically,
a region in the north of England called Yorkshire.
Affectionately known as God's own county.
Yorkshire has some of the finest scenery
and terrain for cycling.
And it established a firm place in the sport
thanks to events like the Tour de France,
the Tour de Yorkshire, and now the World Championships.
But, there's much more to cycling in this beautiful place
than just those events alone.
Cycling is immensely popular here.
So for the uninitiated, this is our handy guide
to Yorkshire, important information for when you visit.
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♪ Come here we come ♪
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- Yorkshire has the hardest climbs in the known world.
Okay, that might not strictly be true.
But God's own county is littered with short, sharp,
brutally steep climbs.
Like this, for example, Park Rash, 25%.
But 25%ers are 10 a penny in these parts.
One of the most famous is Rosedale Chimney Bank.
A must for anyone visiting the area.
It has gradients of over 30% and is an absolute killer.
Modern bike races haven't gone near it.
it's been deemed too hard.
But bike races of old did.
Such as the Kellogg's Tour, back in the '90s and '80s.
Oh, God.
Now,
these climbs might not be as tough as the Angliru
in Spain, that was very tough,
but certainly harder than anything in the south of England.
Or Lancashire,
definitely harder than anything in Lancashire.
Oh, yeah.
It's grim up north, but it's not that grim, honestly.
I mean, yes that bridge behind me on Grinton Moor
did get washed away by a freak storm a week ago
and is potentially forcing a route change
in the World Championships,
that's also what the noise is as they try and repair it.
But it doesn't rain here all the time!
The fact that it does is a myth perpetuated
by people mainly from Lancashire, but in actual fact,
other places in the UK such as Wales, Scotland,
Cumbria, Dorset, they have, and Lancashire,
have higher annual rainfall!
It's a beautiful place.
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Riding in Yorkshire is hard.
Now course profiles may look flat when compared
to a mountainous Queen stage of the Tour de France.
But anyone that's ridden here, including professionals,
will tell you that the reality is that they're anything but.
The roads characteristically feature relentless undulations
often with short, sharp, nasty, steep gradients.
And then that is combined with lots of technical turns
and road surfaces which are often very rough and grippy
and this results in long, energy-sapping, brutal days
in the saddle.
And that's before you even factor in the weather
which, to put it nicely, is,
well, often inclement.
Yorkshire loves cycling.
Every time a major race comes through here,
the local support out on the roads is phenomenal.
It's common for local village communities
to organize street parties and every time
the race comes through everyone comes out
and cheers it, and you often see lots of yellow bikes
and bunting put up in celebration.
The atmosphere is awesome.
And the locals are always keen to showcase
this beautiful region to the rest of the world.
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In case you haven't guessed it,
I'm originally from Yorkshire.
So first up, a quick language lesson for anyone visiting.
This is Connor Swift.
He's from Yorkshire.
He's a cyclist and he's also a former national champion.
Connor's going to speak Yorkshire and I'll translate.
- 'Ey up!
- Greetings, hello.
- How do?
- How are you doing?
- T'all be reyt.
- It will be all right.
- Tha's going to get braed.
- You're going to get beaten up.
- Brew.
- Cup of tea.
- Ee ba gum.
- Oh God.
- Gander.
- Look.
- Nowt.
- Nothing.
- To work.
- Where Yorkshire folk go, 9:00 to 5:00, Monday to Friday.
- Speaking of getting off to work can I go now?
I've got to get down pit.
- Yeah, sorry, no worries, Connor.
Cheers, mate, good to see ya.
- Cheers, you too.
- Ta-ra.
- [Connor] Ta-ra.
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- Yorkshire has fantastic cafe stops.
And the area is famous for its culinary delicacies.
And if you're lucky enough to visit,
you should try them all.
Here is a selection.
Yorkshire puddings, this simple delight
is an essential ingredient to any roast dinner
and is made from milk, flour, and eggs.
Good ride food too.
Yorkshire ale, Yorkshire's home to some of the best real ale
in the world, and brewing it dates back to the 19th century.
And the region is home to some of the biggest
cask-contained brands in the world.
Such as John Smith's, Tetley's,
Black Sheep, and Theakston.
Lovely stuff.
Yorkshire Parkin is a sticky ginger cake
made from oats and black treacle,
and it's typically eaten to celebrate the failure
of Guy Fawkes, a Yorkshire man, and his failure
to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Now, being very calorie dense,
it's also exceptional ride fuel.
Wensleydale cheese, this delicious iconic and creamy fromage
is now protected by European Name Status.
Meaning that only Wensleydale made in Wensleydale
can be called Wensleydale.
It dates back to the Cistercian monks in 1150
and well, its cracking cheese.
In Yorkshire, we don't drink coffee,
we drink proper brews, tea, preferably Yorkshire Tea.
Now a word of warning for ya,
if you've paid more than four pounds 50
for a whole pot of tea, a scone, and a cooked breakfast
then you've probably fallen victim to tourist rates.
Now, just for advice like that alone
you should probably subscribe and click the bell icon.
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Yorkshire has a rich cycling heritage
and has produced multiple world champions.
This landscape's helped shape some of
the world's best riders.
And a few examples include Brian Robinson
who was the first British Tour de France stage winner
back in 1958.
Barry Hoban in the '60s won eight stages
of the Tour de France,
And since then we've had riders like Beryl Burton,
Malcolm Elliott, Ed Clancy, Lizzie Deignan,
and more recently Tom Pidcock, the Tanfields,
and the Swifts.
And lastly, Yorkshire is sexy.
Honestly, just trust me on this one, right?
Hang on, bear with me.
Legend has it that in 2014 when Yorkshire
was being considered to host the Grand Depart
for the Tour de France, the general director
of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme,
was concerned that Yorkshire wasn't sexy.
Now upon hearing this the organizer of the Tour de Yorkshire
Gary Verity, set about convincing him otherwise.
In a bid to woo Prudhomme,
Verity invited him over to the county
and took him on a helicopter ride through the dramatic
and beautiful landscape you can see behind me
and along the coastline as well.
I mean, he could have just shown him the title sequence
to Emmerdale, but he did a helicopter ride nonetheless.
And then this was followed by treating him
to some of Yorkshire's culinary delights
we mentioned earlier.
He said upon finishing the trip
and just as he was heading back to France,
Prudhomme remarked, "Yorkshire is very sexy."
So there you have it, it's official.
Right, hope you've enjoyed this video
and if you have please give it a thumbs up
and share it with your mates.
I'm off now 'cause, well, I've got to tend to my allotment
and take my whippet for a walk.