THE 2018 Tour de Yorkshire is heading to Ryedale's towns and villages later today.

Riders will race through Helmsley, Kirkbymoorside, Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale allow the A170 on its way to a stage finish at Scarborough.

Plans are in place in Kirkbymoorside to make the most of the international TV exposure, with children working hard on some land art that can be seen from the cameras following the race in a helicopter. The town is also hosting the annual tractor run and 10km tomorrow.

>>> FLASH BACK LAST YEAR'S TOUR DE YORKSHIRE IN RYEDALE

Meanwhile, decorations are being put in Pickering and Thornton-le-Dale. Pickering’s church bells will be ringing to welcome the riders as they pass through.

At Thornton-le-Dale, a special "spinride" event will be taking place all day to raise money for local charities, as part of day of community events.

There will be temporary rolling road closures in place as the race passes through the district, although disruption is expected to be minimal.

The road closures will depend on the speed of the riders. As a guide, however, riders are expected at Sutton Bank about 2.55pm, Helmsley at 3.10pm, Kirkbymoorside at 3.25pm, Pickering at 3.40pm and Thornton-le-Dale at 3.45pm.

You can check out all the race times and route details on letour.yorkshire.com

We'd love to see your photos as the cyclists race through Ryedale. You can either email them to gazette@gazetteherald.co.uk or Tweet them to @gazetteherald