The start of the Tour de France is now officially “T’tour”.

The baton of responsibility for one of the world’s greatest sporting events has been officially handed to Yorkshire tourism bosses.

And they are confident that in less than a year, they will be able to deliver a marvellous spectacle.

The two-day Grand Depart will take in much of Yorkshire in July 2014.

And the cream of the world’s cyclists will be in Calderdale and Huddersfield on July 6, with riders battling it out over a challenging stage to Holme Moss.

Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, said: “It has been a memorable 100th edition of Le Tour this year and what better way to follow a British winner than for it to begin in the UK in Yorkshire next year.

“We saw how passionate Yorkshire was about hosting the Grand Depart and we are confident it will be a wonderful spectacle.”

The Grand Depart baton has officially been passed to Yorkshire after the culmination of this year’s historic Tour de France.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, received it at a ceremony in Paris.

Just hours earlier, thousands of Britons including many with Yorkshire Grand Depart flags and banners, lined the Champs Elysees as Britain’s Chris Froome rode to historic victory.

The final day in Paris was beamed around the world, helping put Yorkshire on the world stage. Next year’s Grand Depart will see the county feature even more prominently as coverage will be shown in around 188 countries worldwide in millions of homes across the planet.

Early estimates predict Yorkshire’s Grand Depart could be worth around £100m to the county’s economy and around 3m could line the route during two days of racing.

Yorkshire tourism also saw the highest year-on-year rise for spend in England this January and February compared to the same time last year – up 47%. This follows the announcement last December that Le Tour was coming to Yorkshire.

Mr Verity said: “It’s been a long, exciting ride getting to this point and now the work really begins for us all.

“Yorkshire has been thrust into the spotlight throughout this year since the announcement of our winning bid and we now look forward to welcoming riders and fans from across the country, and indeed the world, when Le Tour rides into our county next July.

“To have a British rider win the Tour again this year is just incredible and sets us up perfectly for next year and who knows – maybe a British hat trick?”

In Huddersfield work has started on resurfacing and repairing routes through the town and the Holme Valley that will be used by the race next summer.

The exact route will be released in October.

A huge cultural festival will welcome the Tour de France to Calderdale.

It’s less than a year to go until the Grand Depart of the Tour de France, the biggest annual sporting event in the world, comes to Calderdale and Huddersfield on July 6, 2014.

And it’s set to be so much more than just a bike race.

Planning is already under way not just for the race, but also for the ambitious 100-day cultural festival, which kicks off on March 27 leading up to the Grand Depart.

It’s set to showcase the best of Yorkshire’s art and culture. An array of exciting events will bring music of all kinds, outdoor spectacles, theatre, dance, literature, digital work, installations and visual arts to local and international audiences.

A big meeting has already been held in Huddersfield to encourage businesses and other organisations to get involved.

Now it’s the turn of local cultural, arts and community groups in Calderdale, who are being invited by the council to get involved.

Bite-sized information sessions are being held in August to explain what the festival will mean for the area; how groups can get involved; tips on making the most of the festival opportunities, including marketing, raising profile and audience development; and how people can keep up-to-date with what’s happening over the next few months.

The sessions are as follows:

Thursday, August 1, Halifax Town Hall, 11.30am-12.30pm

Tuesday, August 6, Smith Art Gallery, Brighouse, 5pm-6pm

Friday, August 9, Birchcliffe Centre, Hebden Bridge, noon-1pm