Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel have been confirmed for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, taking place over May 1-3.
Multi-Olympic and 2012 Tour de France champion Wiggins will be a part of his newly-formed WIGGINS squad, with German sprinter Kittel lining up for WorldTour outfit Giant-Alpecin.
Wiggins was granted special dispensation by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to take part in the event as he transfers mid-season from Team Sky to WIGGINS.
The two teams are part of a 16-squad line-up for the new UCI 2.1-ranked race, which serves as a legacy event after the Tour de France's successful Grand Depart from the region in 2014.
Five WorldTour teams will take to the start line in Bridlington on May 1: Giant-Alpecin (Germany), BMC Racing (USA), LottoNL-Jumbo (Netherlands), IAM Cycling (Switzerland) and British team Sky.
One notable absence from the list is Mark Cavendish's Etixx-QuickStep team, which means that fans will be denied the sight of a sprint showdown between Kittel and the Manxman.
Tour de Yorkshire stage timings and where to watch
We run through the Yorkshire hot spots where you'll get the best views of the 2018 edition of the Tour
In addition to the WorldTour line-ups, six Professional Continental teams, four Continental teams and a Great Britain national squad will take part.
French teams Cofidis and Europcar are included, as are MTN-Qhubeka (South Africa), Cult Energy (Denmark), Roompot Oranje Peloton (Netherlands) and Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise (Belgium).
The remaining British teams are: WIGGINS, NFTO, One Pro Cycling, Madison Genesis and a Great Britain national team. There's no ride for British stalwarts Raleigh or JLT Condor, nor Irish outfit AN Post-Chain Reaction.
>>> Wiggins gets green light to join new team in May and ride Tour de Yorkshire
Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme said: “We will be glad to return to Yorkshire after the huge success of the Tour de France 2014 Grand Départ, the grandest ever. The first ever Tour de Yorkshire will be another occasion to showcase the outstanding landscapes of the county, especially of the coast which we didn’t visit last year with Le Tour.
"Tour de Yorkshire will be a great opportunity to review young talents among British riders and enable them to ride with top Tour de France professional teams and cycling stars like Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel.”
The Tour de Yorkshire is jointly run by Tour de France organiser Amaury Sport Organisation and Welcome to Yorkshire.
Tour de Yorkshire 2015 teams
BMC Racing (USA)
Cofidis (France)
Cult Energy (Denmark)
Europcar (France)
Giant-Alpecin (Germany)
Great Britain national team (Great Britain)
IAM Cycling (Switzerland)
LottoNL-Jumbo (Netherlands)
Madison Genesis (Great Britain)
MTN-Qhubeka (South Africa)
NFTO (Great Britain)
One Pro Cycling (Great Britain)
Roompot Oranje Peloton (Netherlands)
Team Sky (Great Britain)
Team WIGGINS (Great Britain)
Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise (Belgium)
-
-
BikeExchange interested in Tom Dumoulin for 2023 'if he wants to carry on with GC ambitions'
Dumoulin will be free at the end of 2022, when his contract with Jumbo-Visma runs out
By Ryan Dabbs •
-
Joss Lowden is finally about to turn full-time pro aged 34, but for women cyclists it's rarely that simple
A move to Andorra is on the cards, as well as some family planning before Paris 2024
By Jonny Long •
-
Sir Bradley Wiggins: I don’t like being defined as a cyclist
In an unconventional interview with The Times, the Tour de France winner says he would like a change of career
By Alex Ballinger •
-
‘You can see the power you need to survive the Tour de France’ - Marcel Kittel reflects on his most successful years
Marcel Kittel retired from professional cycling as not only one of the best sprinters of his generation, but one of the most successful in the history of the Tour de France.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Marcel Kittel talks us through his best year
Marcel Kittel has been pondering the question for a week. “How do you define your best year? Do you take victories as the most important factor?” It was what Chris Marshall Bell assumed when he first made contact for this interview
By Simon Richardson •
-
Custom shoe designer gets an unexpected boost after Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins dons his kit
The Shoe Dr has done customised shoes for pros like Harry Tanfield but was still starstruck by the first British Tour winner
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Wiggins family winds up third company with debts of £141,000
Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins has seen a third company in his stable of businesses enter liquidation with debts of £141,000.
By Vern Pitt •
-
Bradley Wiggins liquidates businesses with debts of over £1m
Creditors expected to be left out of pocket as Team Wiggins company folds
By Vern Pitt •
-
Welcome to Yorkshire have 12 months to repay £500,000 rescue loan
The tourism agency were given the loan by the council to prevent their collapse
By Jonny Long •
-
‘Cycling is beautiful but professional sport is another story’: Marcel Kittel on his decision to retire at 31
Marcel Kittel has shared more of his motivation for retiring from pro racing at 31.
By Alex Ballinger •
