Aug 31 (Reuters) - The 2022 edition of the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race has been cancelled due to "escalating financial challenges" following the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Tuesday. The last two editions of the multi-stage race, which attracts the world"s top teams and riders plus thousands of amateurs for a sportive over the hilly roads, has been cancelled due to continued uncertainty about the pandemic. The event came into being after the successful Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire. James Mason, the chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire which organises the event along with Tour de France owners Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), said the two bodies had mutually agreed to cancel the event. "We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons," Mason said in a statement. "People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those."