Red Arrows to hold Tour de France grand depart flyby

Red Arrows to hold Tour de France grand depart flyby

Red Arrows' arrival highlight of Dare 2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling

Published: May 15, 2014 at 11:00 pm

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The Red Arrows will honour the Tour de France riders with a spectacular flypast when the racing gets underway in Yorkshire in July.

The RAF’s display wing will be at their most dramatic over the grounds of Harewood House and Dare 2B Yorkshire Festival of Cycling, where the flag will drop and the racing will finally begin on 5 July.

The Red Arrows – star performers at great occasions such as the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee – will trigger their trademark streams of red, white and blue above the stately home and set off a weekend of military-themed entertainment.

On 6 July, as the Tour passes from York to Sheffield, festival-goers at the Dare 2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling will be treated to a Battle of Britain memorial flight, with the rare sight of WWII RAF aircraft, including a Spitfire, Hurricane, Dakota and a Lancaster bomber, taking to the air.

Taking place throughout the Grand Depart weekend from 4 to 6 July 2014, the festival will be hosting high quality camping and glamping facilities, providing groups of all sizes a prime spot to see the Tour de France first hand.

As well as the newly-announced military showcase, there will be plenty more on-site activities to keep festival-goers of all ages entertained. These include a range of sporting participation events such as duathlons, cycling time trials and trail runs (with the challenge to beat times set by Olympic gold and bronze medal-winning triathletes Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee) as well as led rides out into the Yorkshire Dales to view the later stages of the race on both days.

High profile guests will be there to join in the carnival atmosphere, including Lizzie Armitstead, 2006 Tour winner Oscar Pereiro, and another former winner, Ireland’s Stephen Roche, providing a truly one-off experience of the best that Yorkshire – and Britain – has to offer.

For more information on the Dare 2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling, please visit: www.festivalofcycling.org.