Le Tour De Cobbydale
Tue 15th July 2014 | Silsden | By Ian Templeman
With the Tour de France coming through Silsden on Sunday July 6th, many of the locals sported the town’s Yellow Jersey manufactured for the event - “Le Tour de Cobbydale” - Cobbydale being the old name for Silsden.
The “town” (it has a Town Hall) or village as its atmosphere feels like, had been buzzing for weeks with numerous shops and businesses putting up displays in yellow throughout June. Shops were full of yellow knitted jumpers, which will be making their way around the world to make sure babies in areas with fewer resources than the UK are well looked after, immediately after birth.
One of the best pieces of artwork was a model, produced by The British Legion, of half a man and half his bike sticking out of the Chuchyard wall at the bottom of the steep Cringles descent with the slogan “TOLD YOU TO SLOW DOWN”. This was seen on National TV news channels ten days before Le Grand depart.
Local villages tried to outdo their neighbours but Silsden's Youth Council saw their display “Silsden welcomes Le Tour” shown on both ITV4 and Eurosport, not just on the live broadcast but in the evening's summary programmes. Bradford Council had painted the bollards outside the sports ground and on the bridge in the colours of the jerseys, yellow, white, green and white with polka dots.
Prince William and Kate were driven through the village early in the week on their move from nearby Broughton Hall to Harewood House to start the race on Saturday.
Following “The hundred days of culture in Silsden”, parties began on Thursday evening as campers began to arrive from all over the UK, the rest of Europe and even further afield. Campers on the Silsden AFC pitches were provided with excellent facilities and access to the route, which passed directly in front of the ground.
The club house bar was open throughout the weekend with World Cup Quarter Finals being shown and local band “Auto Test Pilots” providing the entertainment on Saturday night.
Breakfast street parties started at 7am on the glorious Sunday morning and two hours before the race came through, Kirkgate was full with the crowds, decked in yellow, six deep. Many Cobbydalers had trekked up to Cringles, a two-mile climb, to see the riders on their first climb and descent of the day.
An entourage of sponsors vehicles came through Silsden distributing “goodies” two hours before the riders.
With the village full, the crowd spread down the Keighley Road and lined the footpaths outside the football field. They weren't disappointed with the club providing the usual “hospitality”. The local fans got a special treat before the peleton came through.
Five helicopters, which had followed the Tour from York, circled around the field before landing in sequence on the First Team pitch to drop off guests of Skoda, the race sponsors, and two previous stage winners of the Tour, Alain de Roux and Louis Blanchard.
They were whisked into vehicles to take them three miles down the “bypass” to watch the first sprint of the day, before returning to take off for Holme Moss. (Some fans were hoping to see a glimpse of the Beckhams who had been seen in the area).
The peleton sped past in the blink of an eye but barbecues and parties continued late into the night. The village hasn't yet recovered with many agreeing “That was the best day ever!”
It showed the spirit of the village, which is highlighted in the Silsden AFC motto .. “The Friendly Club”!
Jim Rosser
Le Tour De Cobbydale
Tue 15th July 2014 | Silsden
By Ian Templeman
With the Tour de France coming through Silsden on Sunday July 6th, many of the locals sported the town’s Yellow Jersey manufactured for the event - “Le Tour de Cobbydale” - Cobbydale being the old name for Silsden.
The “town” (it has a Town Hall) or village as its atmosphere feels like, had been buzzing for weeks with numerous shops and businesses putting up displays in yellow throughout June. Shops were full of yellow knitted jumpers, which will be making their way around the world to make sure babies in areas with fewer resources than the UK are well looked after, immediately after birth.
One of the best pieces of artwork was a model, produced by The British Legion, of half a man and half his bike sticking out of the Chuchyard wall at the bottom of the steep Cringles descent with the slogan “TOLD YOU TO SLOW DOWN”. This was seen on National TV news channels ten days before Le Grand depart.
Local villages tried to outdo their neighbours but Silsden's Youth Council saw their display “Silsden welcomes Le Tour” shown on both ITV4 and Eurosport, not just on the live broadcast but in the evening's summary programmes. Bradford Council had painted the bollards outside the sports ground and on the bridge in the colours of the jerseys, yellow, white, green and white with polka dots.
Prince William and Kate were driven through the village early in the week on their move from nearby Broughton Hall to Harewood House to start the race on Saturday.
Following “The hundred days of culture in Silsden”, parties began on Thursday evening as campers began to arrive from all over the UK, the rest of Europe and even further afield. Campers on the Silsden AFC pitches were provided with excellent facilities and access to the route, which passed directly in front of the ground.
The club house bar was open throughout the weekend with World Cup Quarter Finals being shown and local band “Auto Test Pilots” providing the entertainment on Saturday night.
Breakfast street parties started at 7am on the glorious Sunday morning and two hours before the race came through, Kirkgate was full with the crowds, decked in yellow, six deep. Many Cobbydalers had trekked up to Cringles, a two-mile climb, to see the riders on their first climb and descent of the day.
An entourage of sponsors vehicles came through Silsden distributing “goodies” two hours before the riders.
With the village full, the crowd spread down the Keighley Road and lined the footpaths outside the football field. They weren't disappointed with the club providing the usual “hospitality”. The local fans got a special treat before the peleton came through.
Five helicopters, which had followed the Tour from York, circled around the field before landing in sequence on the First Team pitch to drop off guests of Skoda, the race sponsors, and two previous stage winners of the Tour, Alain de Roux and Louis Blanchard.
They were whisked into vehicles to take them three miles down the “bypass” to watch the first sprint of the day, before returning to take off for Holme Moss. (Some fans were hoping to see a glimpse of the Beckhams who had been seen in the area).
The peleton sped past in the blink of an eye but barbecues and parties continued late into the night. The village hasn't yet recovered with many agreeing “That was the best day ever!”
It showed the spirit of the village, which is highlighted in the Silsden AFC motto .. “The Friendly Club”!
Jim Rosser
