Huddersfield  suddenly seems awash  with roadworks ... but a  year from now these  roads will look very different.

For Kirklees Council has  confirmed what people were  beginning to suspect that the  roadworks from Ainley Top  through to Holmfirth are along  the anticipated route where the  Tour de France will travel next  July.

And much of the work has  been brought  forward to make  sure our roads  are the best they  can be for the  prestigious race.

Drivers travelling from one  side of the town  to the other can’t  fail to notice the  disruption along  the route – and  although not all  involve work  being done on the road surface  it turns out that a rolling series  of improvements is now very  much underway and is set to  continue.

Those roads should be in  pristine condition when the cyclists hurtle past almost exactly a  year from now.

A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said: “Roads on the  Tour de France route which  were due to be improved in  future years have been moved  forward to this year’s road  maintenance programme so  they are brought up to sufficient  quality in time for the race in  July 2014.

“Work is already underway  on the A616 Huddersfield  Road/A6024 Woodhead Road  at Honley and Woodhead Road  at Berry Brow will be improved  in the autumn. Other schemes  will commence later in the  year.

“Other roads across Kirklees  will also be  improved in the  2013/14 programme.”

The hope is that this section  of the tour – dubbed the Yorkshire Grand Départ – will  provide a significant tourist  boost to the area.

The world’s best cyclists will  set off from Leeds on July 5,  2014, and the following day they  are expected to draw huge  crowds to the streets of Calderdale and Huddersfield.

The cyclists will stream along  the route from York to Sheffield  via the Peak District on Day 2 of  Le Tour.

But they will  face one of the  greatest cycling  challenges on  the long climb  up Holme Moss  which at 571m  (1,719ft) is the  site of the  highest radio  transmitter in  the country.

Spectators  can enjoy the  dramatic Dark Peak scenery as  the racers swoosh from Holme  village, over Holme Moss, down  the Woodhead Pass, racing past  the national park ranger centre  at Langsett and on through the  picturesque village of Bradfield  to Sheffield city centre.

The exact route has not yet  been revealed through Huddersfield but it is anticipated to  be from Ainley Top down Halifax Road, around the Huddersfield ring road and then along  Lockwood Road and Woodhead Road all the way up the  Holme Valley and through  Holmfirth to Holme Moss.