Leeds Tour de France photos searched for online archive

Photographs and memorabilia are being collected since the world’s biggest cycling race came to Yorkshire to create a permanent record of the event.

In July 2014, the county hosted the first two stages of the Tour de France, over 2 million spectators came to watch the race, which started in Leeds.

As the 10-year anniversary approaches, people are being asked to add their photos and memories to an online archive.

Leeds City Councilor Mary Harland said it would be “wonderful to build a photographic archive of this important event” for future generations.

The three-week race came to England for the first time since 2007, with two stages in Yorkshire and a third finishing in London.

The race started in Leeds on day one, heading to Otley, Skipton and Ripon before finishing in Harrogate. On the second day, the cyclists started in York, taking in Harrogate and Huddersfield before finishing in Sheffield.

The gallery is displayed on the Leodis website, run by Leeds Libraries. It already includes images such as the statue of the Black Prince in the Town Square dressed in a huge knitted yellow T-shirt.

The jersey was the result of weeks of work by the Holbeck Elderly Aid and Holt Park Active groups, as a tribute to the famous yellow jersey worn by Tour winners for more than a century.

Around 30 balls of yellow wool were used for the statue’s 2m jersey, which was lifted into place before being carefully sewn together.

Other images shown include some of the huge crowds of spectators who gathered on Briggate and The Headrow to catch a glimpse of the riders as they set off outside Leeds Art Gallery.

Also included are images of the riders themselves, lined up with tense expressions before the start of the race, with stars Alberto Contador seen alongside Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome in the lead.

Leeds will also mark its 10-year anniversary by hosting the Legacy Ride, a mass participation cycling event, on Sunday 7 July.

Ms Harland, executive member of the council for communities, said: “The 2014 Big Leave was an occasion Leeds will never forget, when people across the city from different communities came together and made some incredible memories.”