Sir Bradley Wiggins has confirmed his intention to ride in the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire in May.
The 2012 Tour de France winner will leave Team Sky at the end of April to head up his own Team Wiggins developmental squad, and has said the three-day race in Yorkshire will be among his first assignments for the new team.
Wiggins revealed his plans in an interview with The Cycling Podcast, which first aired on Thursday.
Discussing his participation in this week’s Paris-Nice stage race, Wiggins talked of his pride at wearing the time trial world champion’s rainbow jersey for the final time at a major race, and said: “It’ll be nice to [wear it] a last time at this level anyway. I know I’m doing the Tour de Yorkshire, but this is Paris-Nice.”
The Tour de Yorkshire will take place from 1-3 May as a legacy event from last year’s hugely successful Grand Départ of the Tour de France, which brought millions of fans to the region.
Wiggins missed last year’s Tour having been overlooked for the squad by Team Sky.
