The inaugural Tour de Yorkshire brought £50 million of economic benefits to the county, according to new figures.

Independent research showed that over race weekend at the start of May spectators spent £20.5 million on accommodation and £29.5 million on non-accommodation items such as food and drink, souvenirs and transport.

The research shows that 1.5 million spectators lined the roads over the three day race, with many watching more than one stage.

In total the race, which included stages through Huddersfield, Holmfirth and the Colne Valley, attracted one million spectators.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “These are tremendous figures for the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire.

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“To generate £50 million on race weekend and attract many visitors to the county just demonstrates how popular cycle racing in Yorkshire has become and how valuable hosting the races is to our regional economy.

Preparations for next year’s race are coming on well and we can’t wait to announce the full route.

“The race will be a fantastic event for spectators and will be one that the best riders in the world want to compete in.”

In addition to attending the race, 60% of spectators were inspired to cycle more frequently, and 98% of residents from the host towns felt that the race had been positive for their local area.

Your pictures of the Tour De Yorkshire are in the gallery below.

The majority of race spectators were Yorkshire residents (72.5%), with just over a fifth from elsewhere in the UK (20.5%) and 0.3% from abroad.

Planning is well underway for the 2016 edition of the race, which will see a new route through different parts of Yorkshire, part of the race’s remit to showcase the entire county.

The host towns for 2016 are Middlesbrough, Settle, Scarborough, Beverley, Otley and Doncaster.

The full route of the 2016 race will be unveiled on December 9.

The research results have been calculated from a survey conducted by independent research agency GRASP, involving 1,500 respondents who answered questions in person and online.

Watch the video of the peloton arriving a Slaithwaite below.

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