A very happy New Year to every reader. As we enter 2014, I wanted to look back on one of the main topics I have been working on, and the one which will probably dominate for many this year – the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire.

It is 12 months since we heard that the county had won the bid to host the Grand Depart and we are now just a few months away from it arriving across this area.

I have had dozens of meetings on this issue at Westminster in the past year – from working with the organisers to ensure all the plans were in place, to leading the effort to secure £10m of funding from the government to ensure we capitalise on the economic benefits for our area. I also went on the road with a doorstep tour along some of the route of the race in Craven, to encourage everyone to embrace the opportunity to promote our area to the world.

We are lucky to have so much of the race coming through our area on both days of the Grand Depart. The sight of the cyclists, and the huge supporting entourage, travelling through Craven on day one and then Bolton Abbey and into Keighley on day two will be something to remember.

The weekend of July 5 and 6 promises to bring tens of thousands of people to this area and I am sure it will bring many more in the weeks and months following that weekend as well. It promises to be one of the spectacles of 2014.

JULIAN SMITH MP for Skipton & Ripon