Northern asks cycling fans to rethink travel plans after weather forces change to UCI road race

Cycling fans are being asked to rethink their travel plans as severe weather has altered the route of the final day of the UCI Road World Championships.

The course for the men’s elite road race has been altered to avoid flooding, meaning the event is now scheduled to finish much earlier than originally planned.

And, as heavy rain continues to fall in North Yorkshire, the fanzone in Harrogate has also been closed for the day.

Steve Hopkinson, Regional Director at Northern, said: “The change of route, and the closure of the fanzone, will be disappointing for cycling fans – but we still expect thousands of people to travel to Harrogate to see the conclusion of the race.

“With the race now set to finish earlier I am again asking our customers to think about their journey home.

“We have extra services and additional carriages this afternoon to take people from Harrogate after the race, but trains will be extremely busy and customers may want to stagger their journeys to catch a later, less-busy service.

“We will have a queuing system in place at the station to get people onto our trains as efficiently as possible – and we need customers to be patient as we, and colleagues from other operators, work to get fans where they need to be.”

Northern’s timetables for Harrogate are available here, while up-to-the-minute train running information can be found at National Rail Enquiries.