Kippax Celebrates the Tour de Yorkshire 2019
Published: 01 July 2019
What another fantastic year of the Tour de Yorkshire coming through Kippax!
Whilst we didn’t have the same glorious sunshine as last year, it didn’t stop crowds of people coming out to celebrate, creating a fantastic atmosphere and giving the cyclists a warm welcome to our village. We hope you agree that the two large screens we decided to install outside the Co-Op and The Moorgate this year were a great addition - allowing for the anticipation to rise as we watched the peloton make their way up Mary Panel, as well as encouraging people to spend a little more time out on the streets soaking up the atmosphere, watching the race and hopefully supporting our traders!
Whilst the parade of police and support vehicles brought just as much enthusiasm and cheers as the cyclists themselves, we were also really lucky to once again have the Promotional Caravan and the Cycling Ambassadors stop on the High Street to entertain the crowds.
It has been great to see so much positivity surrounding the race once again, from the kind comments people have shared about how great the village looks, the volunteers who have given their time and the enthusiasm from people who came out to watch the race. There was a lot of pressure to outdo ourselves after winning Best Dressed Village in 2018, but I think we can safely say we did just that!
It truly does take a village to bring such a fantastic celebration together, and whilst it would be foolish to attempt to namecheck everyone involved, I think it’s important to give a special mention to Cllr Martin Eyre and Paul Flintoft who dedicated so many hours and early starts to bikes, bunting, Y’s and flags to bring the village to life.
To put things into perspective, there were over 30 bikes painted and installed throughout the village, 6,000m of bunting (which our Ward Councillors paid to be put up), 70 Yorkshire flags on brand new flagpoles and brackets, a Yorkshire flag flying on St Mary’s Church, 20 5ft yellow Y’s, 20 18” yellow Y’s, 3,000 hand flags, 3,000 balloons, four giant pieces of art and three painted canvases, giant banners, cycling scarecrows, four land art projects (thanks to the Girl Guides, Kippax Welfare, Kippax Greenfields and Brigshaw High School, the latter of which ambitiously coordinated hundreds of students to create an impressive moving piece), two giant screens, beautiful blue and yellow flower displays (planted by Kippax in Bloom), plenty of fantastically dressed shop windows and much more!
The biggest thank you has to go to our residents and visitors who came out, despite the rain, to enjoy the race, embrace the spirit and cheer on the cyclists. It was particularly good to see so many young people watching and being inspired by the race, and it’s thanks to the teachers who brought pupils out and made the decision to close early and allow students to enjoy the Men’s race with their families. It’s worth adding how well the village was left, despite the mayhem, thanks to people taking care of their own rubbish and Leeds City Council for organising additional street cleaning and litter picking.
Cycling fan or not, the Tour de Yorkshire encourages amazing community spirit, giving us the opportunity to get our village looking extra special, feel proud of where we live and spend time with our friends, family and neighbours. It’s an experience that can inspire our young people (and some of the older ones I’m sure) to get out on their bikes and enjoy some fresh air and exercise.
We’ve shared lots of fantastic photos with the race organisers as evidence of our efforts, many of which were kindly captured by Billy Milnthorp and Sky Captain Aerial Imaging, so now all we can do is wait to see whether we will rightfully retain our crown as Yorkshire’s Best Dressed Village, and receive another plaque to sit beside our existing one on the wall of the Kippax Hub!
