Tour De Yorkshire comes to Bentley

The streets were lined with blue and yellow banners to welcome the Tour de Yorkshire cyclists as they sped through the village.

Doncaster North MP, Ed Miliband was among those at the roadside. He said: “I’m incredibly excited, the Tour de Yorkshire is an absolutely brilliant thing.

“I’m here in Bentley, my constituency, where my office is.

“You can feel the excitement, you can see the people on the street. It’s great for cycling but most of all it’s great for the community.”

The event took over Bentley High Street as well as the pavilion as crowds made up of school children and local residents enjoyed the festivities.

“It’s a really fantastic race, it’s become a real Yorkshire institution. It’s the first time it’s going through Bentley and I think we’re all incredibly proud to have it here,” Mr Miliband added.

Lots went into planning the days events in Bentley. Kay Marelle, aged 52, local resident and member of the Toll Bar Tourist Planning Group was behind much of the days goings on.

She said: “We got together about eight weeks ago to plan this event. Our aim is to give people a chance to see what Bentley and Toll Bar are like.

“We have got the privilege of having Ben Parkinson here, lots of people have come together and we’re hoping to make it a really special day.

Castle Hill Primary attended the events at Bentley Pavillion – all 247 pupils and their teachers. They took part in painting, outdoor activities, free face painting and of course watched the bikers fly past.

It was a great day for local businesses including Cafe LA which only opened last week. They were ready to welcome in the cycle watchers, providing a warm place to sit when the rain poured down.

Owner Amie Milner is also the Principle of The LA Performing Arts Academy which sits above the cafe, she said: “We are really excited about Tour de Yorkshire and our cafe opened this week so it’s the perfect time to get some people through the door.

“We’ve got loads of Tour de Yorkshire flags, we have blue and yellow napkins and our bike.”

The event was also used to raise money for a good causes. Sandra Durrant, lay pastor of Bentley Methodist Church opened up her church to locals enjoying the day.

She said: “We’ve got involved with the Tour De Yorkshire because of community spirit. We wanted to reach out to the community, to families, children and the elderly in this area.

“We decided to put on a community coffee time, funds will go to the Cancer Detection Trust.”