The organizers of the Tour de Yorkshire "have turned their event this year into the most lucrative competition on the women’s calendar," offering a first prize for the one-day race that will "comfortably exceed what is on offer to the men racing their three-day stage race over the same weekend," according to William Fotheringham of the London GUARDIAN. In "another major development," the Yorkshire organizers have announced that the 135km, three-and-a-half-hour race from Otley to Doncaster on April 30 will be televised live in its entirety, "something that again is rare for any women’s bike race." The dramatic expansion of the Yorkshire event after a "low-key beginning last year" means that British roads appear to be hosting an "informal contest" to stage the richest and most high-profile contest on the women’s calendar. Thanks to a three-year deal with supermarket chain Asda -- which sponsored the "Tourmakers" volunteers when Yorkshire hosted the Tour de France start in '14 -- the first prize for the women’s Tour de Yorkshire will be €20,000 ($22,400). Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Gary Verity said, "Compared to our men’s race, if a rider won all three stages in that, and the overall, they would make €14,000 ($15,600), so that is 40% more." The total prize purse will be €63,623 ($71,100). Verity added, "The aim was always to create the most lucrative women’s race on the planet. There are three things women cyclists have been asking for: the same course as the men, the same media coverage and financial parity. All three are valid criteria and we hope we can address all three." TV coverage will be on Eurosport for the entire event, while ITV4 will cover the final three hours -- "pretty much the whole event bar the ceremonial roll-out" -- live as well (GUARDIAN, 3/23).
