Police have revealed the mammoth task of ensuring public safety for both spectators and competitors during the Tour de Yorkshire.

More than one million spectators are expected to turn out to watch the race this weekend which comes through Calderdale and Kirklees on Sunday.

But for the three day event it has involved a huge amount of planning both from all four Yorkshire police forces and partner agencies which began planning at the start of the year.

West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable, Mark Milsom, who is in charge of the event, said: “West Yorkshire Police has been working alongside the other police forces involved, partner agencies, local authorities and the Welcome to Yorkshire team to put the planning in place for this prestigious event.

Mark Milsom, Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police

“The bikes and the cars that come with them travel at quite high speeds and we just want to make sure people are aware of their own safety and don’t come to any harm.

“The police motorcycle bikes and the escort team close the road down and then open it up as quickly as they can.

“It’s really hard work, they have to concentrate. It might sound easy to close a road down, but if you think how many small roads join a main road and how many people’s personal driveways join a road, it’s actually quite a difficult thing to do.

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“The route often goes through narrow roads, winding routes and lots of potential dangers when you’ve got a fast moving race.”

And to help police work the logistics of the event Dimension Data has provided a solution which makes their job a whole lot easier.

Police motorcyclist giving the crowds hi-fives whilst waiting for the Tour de Yorkshire to sprint through the normally sleepy village of Denby Dale where hundreds lined the route. Photo by Jared Wood

ACC Milsom explains: “Technology is an important back-up for the police. We can’t be everywhere all the time and we’ve begun using a system from Dimensions Data which plots where the race is and where the peloton is and it also goes onto an app so that the public themselves can use it.

“It allows us to anticipate and predict problems for when they are going to happen.

“We’ve done it successfully for the last three years, we’ve been round all the routes and we’ve checked it out and you will see all the motorcycles working together this weekend.”

Keep up to date with all the latest Tour de Yorkshire coverage on the Examiner’s website and for road closures visit www.westyorkshire.police.uk/tour-de-yorkshire