Crowds turn out for Tour of Britain's fourth stage

Hundreds of people lined the streets to watch the fourth stage of the men's Tour of Britain set off from Helmsley on Saturday morning.

The North Yorkshire town was decked out in red, white and blue as the peloton passed through Market Place at 11:00 BST on their 103 miles (166km) route to Leyburn.

Tackling 8,800ft (2,699m) of elevation, the penultimate stage was expected to provide "one of the toughest and most decisive tests of the race", according to British Cycling.

Dutch rider Cees Bol won the stage, while the Belgian Tim Wellens took the green jersey - awarded to the race leader at the end of each day - from Great Britain's Lewis Askey.

The race concludes on Sunday with the fifth and final stage in the Scottish Borders.

Residents and visitors to Helmsley expressed their delight at the town being chosen to host the event, with local business owner Carolyn Frank praising the "brilliant atmosphere".

"We hosted the finish of Tour of Britain four years ago, but having the start is really special," she said.

The co-owner of Libby Butler Jewellers added the atmosphere had been "magical".

"We've got all the community turned out - we're so lucky to live here, surrounded by the beautiful landscapes."

The Tour of Britain started in Lincoln on Wednesday.

The fourth stage route also passed through Boroughbridge and Ripon before heading into the Yorkshire Dales.

After Pateley Bridge, cyclists faced a steep climb up Greenhow Bank towards Grassington, Wensleydale and Aysgarth Falls before ending in Leyburn at about 15:00.

North York Moors National Park employee Mike Houghton had popped into town to see the start.

"It's amazing for bringing people out," he said.

"You can see loads of cyclists, but you can see families as well, little kids on bikes - it's great for them to see pro riders here on their doorstep."

He added it was a positive that Helmsley could be "getting a reputation for hosting big cycling events".

A keen cyclist himself, Tony Scott pedalled 30 miles (48 km) from Thornaby to watch the action unfold.

"I think it's absolutely great," he said.

"It's created a lot of excitement. It's really nice to bring the tour to this part of the country, [so] people see on the telly what it's all about."

Nigel Jinks travelled up from his home in Worcester, via Lincoln, so he could watch the peloton at a number of different stages in the race.

His plan was to catch the end of the action in Leyburn.

"Today's start was really good - we've got the weather as well," he said.

"I'm looking forward to going through the nice villages in the Yorkshire Dales."

Carl and Rebecca Sugden, from Thirsk, were among those lining the streets.

"It's nice to see all these really top end professional athletes doing something I can't do," said Carl.

Rebecca said: "It was really lovely to see all go past and give them a big cheer and a send off.

"It almost makes you quite emotional because they're at such a high level, and it's so great to see them do what they do."

Carl added there was "a great tradition of cycling" in Yorkshire.

"With the Tour de France here in 2014, that legacy seems to have been sustained, so for little market towns like this, it's fantastic to get that extra exposure."

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