Teams announced for Tour de Yorkshire

Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel will be among the big names in action at the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, race organisers have confirmed.

Wiggins will lead his newly formed team, WIGGINS, for the first time since leaving Team Sky at the end of April at the three-day race, which takes place from May 1-3.

And he will come up against his old employers straight away, as Team Sky have been listed as one of five UCI WorldTour teams taking part, along with BMC Racing, IAM Cycling, Giant-Alpecin and LottoNL-Jumbo.

Another new British team also set to race is ONE Pro Cycling, who were established by former England Test cricketer Matt Prior over the winter.

The teams taking part are:

UCI WorldTour: BMC Racing, Giant-Alpecin, IAM Cycling, LottoNL-Jumbo, Team Sky
UCI Pro Continental: Cofidis, Cult Energy Pro Cycling, Europcar, MTN-Qhubeka, Roompot Oranje Peloton, Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
UCI Continental: Madison Genesis, NFTO, ONE Pro Cycling, WIGGINS
Other: Great Britain National Team

The race is being co-organised by Welcome to Yorkshire, the tourism agency behind bringing the Tour de France’s Grand Depart to the county last summer, and the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO), who run the Tour de France.

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity said: "‎Our aim is for the Tour de Yorkshire to be one of the biggest and best three-day races in the world and this incredible line-up is evidence that we can achieve that.

“It's a testament to our county that some of the top riders in the world want to come here. We are going to put on a show people will remember for the rest of their lives, whether they are lining the route or watching on TV as it is broadcast to countries around the world.”

The race is ranked in the third tier of professional cycling, two below the Tour de France and one below the Tour of Britain, but could still see some of the best cyclists in the world in action.

Each of the 16 teams will be made up of eight riders, with Kittel, who is widely regarded as the best sprinter in the sport, expected to lead Giant-Alpecin.

Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme said: “The first ever Tour de Yorkshire will be another occasion to showcase the outstanding landscapes of the county, especially of the coast where we didn’t go 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."