THE 2020 Tour de Yorkshire - which will incorporate Ilkley's Cow and Calf Rocks on the final day - promises to be the toughest edition yet as riders tackle the climbs of Buttertubs and Grinton Moor made famous by the Tour de France in 2014.

The two climbs, taken as a double-header, will be part of both the men's and women's races - featuring on stage two of the men's race and the opening day of the women's race - on a 124.5 kilometre route from Skipton to Leyburn.

Neither Buttertubs nor Grinton Moor have previously been part of the Tour de Yorkshire, and both had to be cut from the men's elite race at the UCI Road World Championships last year due to adverse weather.

That came after extensive work had been done to repair a bridge on Grinton Moor washed away by flooding earlier in the year and James Mason, the recently-appointed chief executive of troubled tourism agency Welcome To Yorkshire, said it was important for the race to visit the area.

"Many of our county's iconic climbs are included, and we're particularly pleased to see Buttertubs and Grinton Moor making appearances after they were unfortunately cut from the World Championships route on account of the weather last September," said Mason, former chief operating officer at Bradford City.

The four-day men's race begins on April 30 with a 176.5km stage up the east coast from Beverley to Redcar via Whitby.

After the second stage to Leyburn, stage three, on Saturday, May 2, will pass through the Bradford district – cyclists will descend on Oxenhope, the nearby ‘Côte de Leeming’, Denholme, Keelham and Queensbury – along their journeys from Barnsley to Huddersfield, with stage two of the women’s race also following this route.

This day includes the feared cobbled climb of Shibden Wall, just 18km from the finish line, with the women's stage 114.5km long and the men racing for 134km.

The women's race concludes in Huddersfield, while the men's race wraps up with the 177.5km final stage from Halifax to Leeds via the Yorkshire Dales, taking in the climbs of Goose Eye, Barden Moor, Greenhow Hill, the Cow and Calf in Ilkley, and Otley Chevin.

Chris Lawless won last year's men's race - the first victory for Team Ineos in their new colours - while Marianne Vos won the women's race for CCC-Liv.

This will the sixth edition of the Tour de Yorkshire, a legacy event of the Tour de France's Grand Depart in the area in 2014, though questions remain over the long-term future of the event.

Mason's appointment follows the resignation last year of former chief executive Sir Gary Verity, with the organisation saying at the time that concerns had "been raised in relation to his (Verity's) behaviour towards staff and his expenses". Welcome To Yorkshire later said Verity had agreed to reimburse monies owed after "errors of judgement regarding his expenses".

Mason has already indicated the race must prove its financial viability if it is to continue, stopping short of giving a long-term commitment.