THIS year's Tour de Yorkshire boosted the economy by £60m, according to research by Leeds Beckett University.

The race weekend saw more than two million spectators line the route, which went through Ryedale, and spend 20 per cent more than last year.

The amount spent on accommodation was up 27.8 per cent year on year, and non-accommodation items such as food and drink, souvenirs and transport was up by 12.4 per cent.

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "This is tremendous news for Yorkshire and the statistics speak for themselves - the public support for the Tour de Yorkshire is overwhelming.

"Even in the face of some not so welcoming weather, these statistics show that the Tour de Yorkshire is rapidly going from strength to strength.

"The great people of the county continued to support the race in their droves with over two million people lining the route, spending 20 per cent more than last year while TV viewing figures nearly doubled.

"This confirms that the people of Yorkshire have really taken the Tour de Yorkshire to their hearts and already we can’t wait for next year."

The economic impact study carried out by Leeds Beckett showed that the majority of spectators were from Yorkshire while 21 per cent were from elsewhere in the UK and abroad.

The race was televised in 178 countries and watched by nearly 11.4m global TV viewers - double the amount in 2015.

There was more than 130 hours of TV coverage broadcast globally: 165 per cent more than in 2015 due to new broadcasters and longer broadcast coverage, according to an independent survey by Repucom.

A small number of 2017 start and finish locations have already been confirmed with Fox Valley (Sheffield), Halifax, Harrogate and Selby announced as hosts.