THE two-day visit of the Tour de France to Yorkshire had a major economic impact on the area that will be felt for many years to come, an official report has concluded.

A 64-page report by the organisers of the Grand Depart, found the July event, which passed through the Yorkshire Dales, Hambleton District, Ripon, York and Harrogate, generated £102m for the region's economy.

By dividing the route into 0.5km sections, categorising them by types of area and examining television footage and cross-checking with a National Omnibus survey, organisers found there had been 3.3m spectators in Yorkshire.

Local businesses had a mixed experience of the Tour, with the scale of the disruption - including 650 road closures in North Yorkshire alone - negatively affecting numerous firms across the region.

However, the study found more than 90 per cent of residents of the towns and villages along stages one and two said they believed hosting the race had a beneficial effect on their areas.

A spokeswoman for Black Sheep Brewery, in Masham, said it was among the firms that experienced a surge in business due to the race.

She said: “I have no doubt that the economic and social impact will continue to benefit Yorkshire for many years."

At an event in Leeds to unveil the report, Liz Nicholl, chief executive of government agency UK Sport said the staging of the event was among the "greatest sporting achievements".

She said: "It is up there with the London 2012 Olympics.

"There were many unknown factors, such as how many spectators there would be, where they would go, when they would arrive and what the weather would be like.

"It is enough to make even the most seasoned events manager break out in a cold sweat."

Paying tribute to Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive and Coverdale sheep farmer Gary Verity, whose idea it was to bring the event further north than it had been before, she said the successful hosting of the event had given confidence to the rights holders of the 14 world and European championship events due to be hosted in Britain over the next five years.

Mr Verity said he believed the economic legacy would increase in the coming years and that 2015 would be a record year for many businesses, following the extensive television coverage and numbers of visitors who had seen what the area had to offer.

The study concluded one million of the spectators travelled to the event from outside Yorkshire, and more than a quarter never cycled.

More than one-in-four of those lining the route were from Yorkshire and five per cent were from the North-East.

It also claimed 59 per cent of Yorkshire residents and 41 per cent of people from the North-East watched the race on television or another device.

Mr Verity said: "It was more than just a bike race - we were telling people that for many months before the event.

"People were sceptical about that; I don't believe they are sceptical any more."

He said the economic impact had been felt many miles from the route as communities embraced the event.