Tour de Yorkshire: Everything you need to know ahead of stage one

Excitement is building ahead of the first stage of this year's Tour de Yorkshire.
Tour de YorkshireTour de Yorkshire
Tour de Yorkshire

On its fifth anniversary, the Tour will be spread over four days for the first time, taking in some of the county's greatest views and most-loved sights.

Here is everything you need to know for the men's race before the exciting four-day extravaganza gets underway:

Tour de YorkshireTour de Yorkshire
Tour de Yorkshire

Where does stage one start?

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Stage one gets underway in the historic market town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Known as a beautiful market town with history that harks back to around 700AD, Beverley has grasped the bull by the horns in recent times and embraced a modern outlook.

New developments and shopping areas mean that modern visitors and historic monuments can stand hand-in-hand, and be admired by all.

When does it start?

The women's race gets us underway today with a start time of around 8.40am.

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The men's race will push off at around 1.50pm in Beverley - but all timings are approximate.

Where does it pass through?

Hatfield, Tickton, Pocklington, Howden Stainforth and Bessacarr are just some of the places that the Tour will pass through in between Beverley and Doncaster today. For the full list of locations, as well as the full list of timings, click here.

What distance will the bikers ride

The men will travel a total distance of 182km today, while the women will cycle 132.5km.

How long will it take?

The average time a rider in the men's race takes to travel this distance is four hours and 30 minutes, while the women's leg take son average three hours and 40 minutes.

How many riders are taking part?

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There are 20 teams entered into the men's race for this year's Tour, travelling to God's own County from all over the world. Most teams have seven riders, apart from one, BMC Racing Team who have six, meaning 139 will prepare to get the race underway.

What roads are closed?

For a full list of road closures and timing for the whole of Yorkshire, click here.

Is it on TV?

If you can't make it to the race, then ITV 4 have you covered.

Thursday, May 3 - Tour de Yorkshire women's race - ITV4 8.30am-1.00pm

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Thursday, May 3 - Tour de Yorkshire men's race - ITV4 1.45pm - 6.45pm

Where does it finish?

The riders will arrive in the South Yorkshire town of Doncaster where the finish line will be located.

Today's weather

Luckily, the weather looks like being fairly sound for the first day of the Tour. Highs of 19C are being predicted in Doncaster by the Met Office with no rain in sight, although it may slightly cloudy or overcast.