Police in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire have again demonstrated the strength of regional collaboration and strong partnership working to deliver a safe and secure Tour de France “Yorkshire Grand Départ”.
The world’s greatest cycling event has proved to be a spectacular occasion with millions of residents and visitors experiencing the supreme riding over the first and second stages of the race this weekend.
Building on the success of the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, the three forces have worked side-by-side for over a year to prepare and co-ordinate the policing operation under the command of Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom of West Yorkshire Police.
This has been achieved through close liaison with the French police and the Gendarmerie, who were deployed on the race route to assist with the sporting side of the event as well as in a ceremonial capacity.
Regional emergency service colleagues, local authorities and other key partners have also worked with Welcome to Yorkshire and the TdFHUB2014 LTD, a subsidiary company of UK Sport, which had responsibility for planning and delivering the wider event surrounding the race.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Milsom said: The Tour de France has been a tremendous success for Yorkshire and, after the amazing scenes and atmosphere these past two days, I am certain that Yorkshire has also been a tremendous success for the Tour de France.
Everybody involved in planning and delivering this incredible event can be very proud. It has been a real privilege to be part of it.
From a policing perspective, it wasn’t just about making sure this world-class sporting event was delivered safely. We wanted to do it with a smile on our faces and really embrace the feel-good factor associated with the Tour de France.
The team work between the three police forces of West, South and North Yorkshire has been very impressive throughout and I thank all the officers and staff for their outstanding contribution.
It also demonstrates once again the strength of our collaboration and the policing capability in the Yorkshire region.
