Prime Minister David Cameron has backed plans to grow next year’s Tour de Yorkshire.

Welcome to Yorkshire hopes to expand the race to four days rather than three and raise the profile of the women’s race.

It comes as charities are invited to bid to become the official race charity for the Tour de Yorkshire 2016. The deadline for applications is October 16.

And it also comes after the PM was involved in a broadcast gaffe, which you can see below, when he remarked that “Yorkshiremen seem to hate each other”.

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Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “I’m delighted that the Prime Minister is supporting our plans to grow next year’s Tour de Yorkshire. The inaugural race built on the success of the Grand Départ’s visit to Yorkshire and we want next year’s Tour de Yorkshire to be even better”.

Mr Cameron said: “Like so many people around the UK I was delighted when Yorkshire hosted the Tour de France’s Grand Départ.

"The huge public response to that race was obviously an important building block for the success of this year’s inaugural Tour de Yorkshire.

"I was lucky to see first-hand the electric atmosphere both races generated. I am greatly impressed by the ambitious plans to grow next year’s Tour de Yorkshire”.

The first race in May was watched by 1.5 million spectators across Yorkshire, with thousands out on the streets of Huddersfield and Holmfirth.

Take a look at your pictures from the 2015 Tour De Yorkshire below.