Sir Gary Verity was the man with a plan – and a dream.

Naysayers queued up to ridicule his notion that the Tour de France Grand Depart could come to the UK, and that Yorkshire could have a prime role in one of the biggest sporting events on the planet.

Three years on Sir Gary – he was knighted in 2015 for services to tourism – is preparing to launch the third edition of the Tour De Yorkshire, said to be worth as much as £60 million to tourism across the region as it sweeps for 490km (304.5 miles) across the county from Bridlington to journey’s end in Sheffield.

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive at Welcome to Yorkshire, as Yorkshire is chosen to host the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, during a press conference at the Welcome to Yorkshire offices, Leeds. Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive at Welcome to Yorkshire

And it’s coming to Kirklees with all of its attendant prestige, punch and power to the local economy.

“We always hoped that the Grand Depart would be massive, that’s why we went after it so aggressively,” he reveals. “With the Tour De Yorkshire we never quite knew how that would actually play out. We didn’t know whether it would be small, medium or large in the grand scheme of things.

“We are now onto the third edition, which will be even bigger than the previous ones.”

But what does that mean for Yorkshire? Sir Gary says it boils down to two elements: what happens this weekend, and into the future.

“Research that came out from one of our universities last year said that the race weekend puts £60 million into the Yorkshire economy.

“The big part of the answer is what does this stimulate on an ongoing basis – to push people in the direction of Yorkshire? The answer is quite a lot.

“Those figures are quantified by Visit Britain on an ongoing basis. It’s interesting that every time they produce a set of stats now, they are record figures for Yorkshire.”

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Sir Gary, chief executive of Leeds-based tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, admits he is experiencing “a mix or nerves, excitement and anticipation” in the run-up to this year’s Tour de Yorkshire.

“Someone said to me yesterday, ‘Before the Tour De Yorkshire, what was there that brought people together right across Yorkshire as an event?’ And we all scratched our heads. We’re not sure what there was. There are lots of events that happen in individual places but I can’t think of anything that happens pan-Yorkshire that draws communities together like this.

“We have done everything that we can do. Bring it on!”