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Tour de Yorkshire routes could see cyclists banned after angry motorists complain they hog roads

The Tour de Yorkshire road cycling race in Yorkshire, England which started in May 2015 - 2016 Getty Images
The Tour de Yorkshire road cycling race in Yorkshire, England which started in May 2015 - 2016 Getty Images

Tour de Yorkshire routes could see cyclists banned from riding after angry motorists complained.

Riders who cycle in pelotons, where they pack closely together as they ride, have been accused of hogging entire roads by refusing to give way to motorists, flicking v-signs at car drivers and speeding through villages.

Warning signs are now being put up to urge riders to cycle in single file rather than pack formations when negotiating the narrow routes across the Yorkshire Dales.

The signs come at a time when British Cycling is already battling to keep Yorkshire Tour de France routes open after a spate of deaths were revealed earlier this year.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Caroline Patmore said “the behaviour of cyclists” was the problem.

“All they do is speed and it’s not just two abreast - sometimes it’s three or four on very narrow roads,” she said.

“It is not good for motorists following them up a hill. When you do overtake them you get a rude gesture.”

Councillor Patmore added that cars coming up behind them could not seem to get past the cyclists who ride “four abreast”.

"It is called road rage. We have very wide lorries and farm vehicles and there really is not room on the roads for cyclists and these wide vehicles,” she said.

“We have had one or two very nasty accidents. Certainly, on the narrow roads they should have signs up saying ‘Cyclists welcome - but in single file only’.”

North Yorkshire County Councillor Caroline Patmore said cars coming up behind them could not seem to get past the cyclists who ride “four abreast” - Credit: Bryn Lennon/ Getty Images
North Yorkshire County Councillor Caroline Patmore said cars coming up behind them could not seem to get past the cyclists who ride “four abreast” Credit: Bryn Lennon/ Getty Images

According to the Department of Transport 246 cyclists were killed or seriously injured in North Yorkshire in the three years since the Grand Depart, compared with 34 in 2006.

Highways officials are putting up more danger signs in response to a spate of deaths including. After the death of 65-year-old Christopher Auker, from Selby, North Yorkshire, who ran into a stationary caravan while competing in a time trial event on the A63 near Hull in 2013,

Highways England sought to ban all cyclists from a 15-mile stretch of the A63, where there have been five other cycling crashes in the past five years.

Julie Harrington, CEO of British Cycling, the sport’s governing body, said: “Our aim to encourage more people onto their bikes will ultimately lead to our roads becoming less congested, and our population becoming healthier.

“Therefore, any move to ‘ban’ cyclists from any stretch of road is deeply concerning.”

She added that the Grand Depart had a “catalytic effect” on cycling in the region and said the rise ought to be celebrated.

Highways England, which has received 10,000 letters of objection to the ban, says a final decision will be announced in Autumn.