THE route for this year's Tour de Yorkshire races have been announced following a press conference this morning.

The prestigious cycling race, featuring some of the world's best riders, has been running since 2015 and returns for its sixth event on April 30, running until May 3.

This morning in Leeds, it was announced that this year will see the Heritage Stage go from Barnsley to Huddersfield on Saturday May 2.

The riders will start at Barnsley Town Hall before heading to Oxspring and Penistone before heading into West York Yorkshire.

James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It’s exciting for me to be involved with the Tour de Yorkshire for the very first time and this year’s routes look fantastic. Many of our county’s iconic climbs are included, and we’re particularly pleased to see Buttertubs and Grinton Moor making appearances after they were unfortunately cut from the World Championships route on account of the weather last September.

“Seeing the men and women tackle Shibden Wall will also be special, and we’re delighted to be bringing the race to so many new places as well. We’re lucky to have such a diversity of landscapes here in Yorkshire and these races will have something for every type of rider. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m sure we’re in for some really exciting action.”