Search is on for helpers to help Tour wheels turn

Organisers of the Grand Depart want to set up a team of Tour Makers, which will be made up of up to 10,000 volunteers across the country.

People have one last chance to put themselves forward for consideration before the deadline on December 31.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg officially launched the partnership in Yorkshire, alongside Welcome to Yorkshire Bid Ambassador and double Commonwealth gold medal winning cyclist Malcolm Elliott, from Sheffield, who joined Asda officials and local riders to unfurl a giant one-off Tour Maker shirt to mark the project launch.

Asda will work with Welcome to Yorkshire to oversee the training and selection of the volunteers to help deliver the Grand Départ. Asda will also provide the final volunteer force with a Tour Maker uniform as well as refreshments throughout the course of the event.

Mr Clegg said: “You can already sense the buzz and excitement right across the country as we
get ever closer to Yorkshire’s Grand Départ – and the launch
of the Tour Makers and the public’s response to it already is
evidence of that. I would
urge anyone interested in this scheme to put their names forward now.”

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It is great to have secured a partnership with Asda, a firm whose roots are inextricably linked with Yorkshire and who understand what this sporting moment will mean to the county.

Anyone interested in volunteering for any of the three stages of the race while it is in England can register at www.letouryorkshire.com/volunteer before December 31.