User:Mharris99/sandbox

User:Mharris99/Infobox Goods station User:Mharris99/10 Bishop Leeds User:Mharris99/F1 Teams User:Mharris99/Yorkshire Trains PONTEFRACT GP

The Pontefract Grand Prix is a criterium road bicycle race held in the town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire in England. It is organised by BBM Revolution Cycling Club under the technical regulations of British Cycling and promoted in partnership with HARIBO Beacon Cycling Team (an Elite British National Cycling Team) and Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.

History
The event was was set up in response to the success and raised profile of Road bicycle racing in Yorkshire, after the county successfully gained the opening stages of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart. The Pontefract Grand Prix will be the first professional road cycle race held within the Wakefield District.

The inaugural event played host to four different races. A Youth Race which was open to under 16 riders, a Woman's Race for 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders, a Men's Support Race for 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders and a Men's Elite Race for Elite, 1st and 2nd category riders, with Olympic gold medallist Steven Burke entering.

Course
The course takes a clockwise, near figure of eight route around Pontefract town centre and is run on a mix of pedestrianised paving stones and Asphalt roads.

Beginning in the Market Place, the course turns left and downhill onto Valley Road before sweeping right onto theA645 Southgate. After a 250m straight down the A645, the circuit turns a 180° uphill and to the left on the [A639 road (Great Britain)|A639]] Jubilee Way to head upRopergate for 222m. The course turns left to briefly run parallel, yet in the opposite direction to turn one, across Market Place and through a left-right-left-right set of s-bends behind St Giles Church to emerge on the Salter Row. The course finally turns right onto Woolmarket, before turning right again, past the town hall, onto Market Place for an aproximate 100m sprint for the start-finish line.