TOUR fever descended on North Yorkshire as the famous cyclist race made its way through North Yorkshire.

Crowds filled town squares and lined the roadsides as the third stage of the Tour de Yorkshire made its way on a 114-mile route from Richmond to Scarborough on Saturday.

It was the first time the race has visited Richmond and the town didn’t disappoint, with thousands of people gathered in the market place and surrounding streets for a day's worth of entertainment.

There were similar scenes in Catterick, Bedale, Northallerton and Thirsk, where entertainment had been laid on in celebration.

Following the ceremonial ride through Richmond, the peloton headed into Catterick Garrison for its official start, where the military put on a display of marching bands, demonstrations and military vehicles along the race route for the crowds.

The start line was marked by two Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles and the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Dragoon Guards based at Alma Barracks in Catterick Garrison.

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Jordan, Commander of Catterick Garrison, said: “It is very special for the Tour de Yorkshire to come through the Garrison this year. Every village and town in Yorkshire hopes to have a piece of the action and we were very pleased to secure this for the Garrison.”

Crowds also enjoyed The Garrison Gathering in Coronation Park throughout the day where various events were held including a display of military vehicles and music from the Band of the Royal Armoured Corps. At the Garrison Stadium thousands of plastic bottles had been recycled into a large replica of the Catterick Rose - one of many pieces of large-scale land art created by communities on the route.

The riders travelled through Bellerby to Leyburn, Constable Burton and Patrick Brompton, before heading back towards Bedale.

Bedale had laid on its own “Tourfest” with live music, barbecue, world food, licensed bars and the race shown on a large screen in Bedale Park.

The race then progressed to Northallerton and Thirsk where thousands of people had lined the route, decorated shops and streets and made their own art installations. It was then the first of two major climbs, as the international cyclists pitted themselves against Sutton Bank.

Crowds cheered on the cyclists as they took on the painfully steep climb, before breaking out on to the open roads at the top, where the clear skies provided breath-taking views of hundreds of miles of North Yorkshire countryside.

From there the race progressed through Ryedale, including Pickering, before heading out over the moors to the coastal finish at Scarborough.

North Yorkshire County Council Leader Carl Les said residents along the way had put in a huge amount of effort for the celebrations.

“North Yorkshire hosted the entire Stage 3 route today, starting in Richmond, the historic gateway to the Dales, and finishing on the coast with the spectacular seafront finale in Scarborough.

"Towns and villages along the route looked fantastic, with so much imagination and effort put in by the residents.

“We are delighted by the amount of support for the race in our county from those who live here and visitors alike – everyone enjoys the day, and the financial benefits for the county will be seen for a long time to come.

“Our residents really like to make an event of the race and it brings pleasure to thousands along the route.”

As the race ended under scorching temperatures on the North Yorkshire Coast, a wall of sound greeted Maximillian Walscheid as he sprinted to victory on a sizzling third stage of the Tour de Yorkshire.

The crescent-shaped slopes of Scarborough’s North Bay provided a perfect natural amphitheatre for the fourth year in succession and tens of thousands of fans bathed in temperatures hotter than Palma and Tenerife to watch another dramatic finish unfurl.

A total crowd of 650,000 had lined the 181km route from Richmond, taking the three-day total to a whopping 1.7 million.

Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Sir Gary Verity said: “Once again the number of roadside spectators was utterly unbelievable. I don’t think Richmond has ever seen so many people and every village and town along the route was packed with smiling faces.

“Scarborough did itself proud as well. We love the finish on the North Bay and it’s an iconic feature of the Tour de Yorkshire. The crowds are always massive there but this year they were larger than ever and we were treated to some great racing in brilliant sunshine.

“We’ve had three magnificent days and we’re all excited now to see how the Yorkshire Terrier turns out.”

Stage three winner Maximillian Walscheid said: “The scenery, the people and the weather were all incredible, and it seems like the race organisers have picked a really good week in the year for sun.

“The stage designers also did a really good job.

"The route was demanding but it still finished in a sprint royale and it was spectacular for the spectators.

"The reception we got all day was fantastic – people were standing in many rows.

"I’ve ridden famous races like Paris-Roubaix before but never seen crowds like that. This win was one of the proudest moments of my career.”