Emma Pooley to ride alongside Lizzie Armitstead at Tour de Yorkshire

Emma Pooley will return to the Great Britain cycling team at the Tour de Yorkshire to race alongside Lizzie Armitstead.

The 2010 world champion is coming out of retirement to help Armitstead challenge for gold in the Olympic Games road race in Rio this August.

Her first step on the road to Rio is the Tour de Yorkshire women's race on April 30, which runs from Otley to Doncaster.

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“I’m really looking forward to joining up with my Great Britain teammates for the Women’s Tour de Yorkshire race and I’m looking forward to racing on the road again," Pooley said of her return.

“The Tour de Yorkshire race will be awesome because it’s on the same course as the men’s race, and Yorkshire has seen such amazing growth in cycling in the last few years. It looks like a great course.”

Pooley hasn't been taking it easy since she retired from cycling in 2014, being crowned the long-distance duathlon world champion in each of the last two years.

Her return to the road could see her selected for the time trial at the Olympic Games as well, with the hilly course set to suit her abilities.

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British Cycling’s technical director Shane Sutton said: “I’m looking forward to seeing Emma back in action for us at the Women’s Tour de Yorkshire - Emma is a phenomenal athlete and will be an asset to the team.

“Emma has committed herself to training for the Olympic time-trial event in Rio, and we appreciate and support the sacrifice she is making to be in the best possible shape for this event. The Olympic team will be selected at the end of June and announced in early July.”