TO celebrate one month to go until the opening ceremony of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, Yorkshire 2019 have announced there will be a publicity caravan for the first time in the event’s 98-year history.

Publicity caravans are a popular feature in cycling and involve a colourful convoy of vehicles travelling ahead of the races handing out freebies at various locations along the route.

The caravan will feature on the Women’s and Men’s Elite Road Races which take place on Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29. The flotilla will travel the full route of the women’s race, which sees the riders roll out of Bradford at 11.40am, and pick up the men’s race in Reeth given the relatively early start time of 08.40am in Leeds.

Reeth was chosen especially as a way of recognising the resolve and sprint shown in the wake of the severe floods which ravaged parts of Yorkshire last month.

Swaledale was particularly badly hit with many residents suffering damage to their homes and businesses. The bridge on Grinton Moor – which was due to feature in the Men’s Elite Road Race – was washed away completely but North Yorkshire County Council are acting swiftly to build a temporary replacement, meaning the route for that race will be unchanged.

Yorkshire 2019 chief executive Andy Hindley said: “We want to make the 2019 UCI Road World Championships the most inspiring, inclusive and innovative edition in the event’s history – and organising the first-ever publicity caravan at a championships is another way of doing that. Reeth was the perfect place to start the caravan on the final day of action as it has endured such a tough time of it lately. It’ll be a brilliant spectacle."