Gary Verity has received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
The sheep farmer was the man who was behind the original idea to have the Tour De France in Yorkshire and his work, as CEO of the Welcome To Yorkshire, with race organisers and all the agencies involved saw Leeds staging the a Grand Depart in 2014 and the county of Yorkshire hosting two stages.
The crowds flocked to Yorkshire with around five million people coming into the Yorkshire region for the race which was watched by spectators ten deep in some parts of the stage.
That boosted the Yorkshire economy by an estimated £128m and was further boosted this year by the successful hosting of the first ever Tour De Yorkshire.
Speaking about his knighthood, Sir Gary Verity said: "It's very humbling. I'm a businessman, I'm not used to any accolades or recognition or anything like that. I see it as a reward for Yorkshire in its entirety".