Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel will ride in May’s inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, both riders confirmed as taking part in part in the race following the announcement today of the teams that will line up at the start in Bridlington on Friday 1 May.
Wiggins will head up his own Team WIGGINS, which he will join in April after Paris-Roubaix, while Kittel, winner of the opening stage of last year’s Tour de France in Harrogate to take the yellow jersey, returns with his Giant-Alpecin team.
That’s one of five WorldTeams that will compete in three-day race, ranked UCI 2.1, the others being Team Sky, BMC Racing, Lotto NL-Jumbo and IAM Cycling.
They will be joined by six Professional Continental Teams – Cofidis, Europcar, MTN-Qhubeka, Cult Energy, Roompot Oranje Peloton and Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise., four Continental Teams – Team WIGGINS, NFTO, ONE Pro Cycling and Madison Genesis, and a Great Britain National Team.
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.
“The 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.”
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, added; “Today is a landmark moment for Yorkshire and it is a credit to every single person who played a role in the Grand Départ – whether they were a spectator, a rider, a Tour Maker – that we have attracted such a high calibre of teams to this first edition of our new race.
“The start and finish towns for the Tour de Yorkshire and everybody who has already picked out where they will watch on the day, and now, every member of these teams, will experience one of the greatest sports events in the UK in 2015.”
The opening stage on Friday 1 May runs from Bridlington to Scarborough and will be followed by stages from Selby to York and Wakefield to Leeds.
The second day will also see a women’s race tackling four laps of a 20km circuit in York, with one team already confirmed being Dame Sarah Storey’s Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International.
The Tour de Yorkshire will be broadcast live on ITV and Eurosport.
10 thoughts on “Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel to ride Tour de Yorkshire as teams announced”
Coming from Scarborough, I
Coming from Scarborough, I don’t think I’ll be able to contain my excitement seeing Kittel hammer the sprint on the North Bay.
Accommodation booked fer the
Accommodation booked fer the weekend looking forward to it, and as a Geordie can hardly contain my excitement at the ToB returning to the North East. 😀
Great and everything, but why
Great and everything, but why is it the Tour DE Yorkshire? What’s wrong with the word ‘of’? Is it a ersatz pastiche of a European classic, or something British and great in its own right? And don’t say ‘it’s a nod to cycling’s glorious history,’ as it’s obvious that such thoughts were behind the decision to stick a French word in the title of a British race. I get it. It’s a bit sad, that’s all.
Wiggins won’t win
Wiggins won’t win it.
Because ASO are the organisers.
Yes Ben
Agreed they should of
Yes Ben
Agreed they should of used the word “of”
Maybe after the first running of the event they will change it, to be more fitting with the longevity of the event.
Hi Ben, let’s not forget that
Hi Ben, let’s not forget that ‘Tour’ is a French word and York has its origins in Norse language. Not really worth getting worked up about, is it? And if we are to be critical it would be ‘an ersatz pastiche’ and even that would be tautological. You’re clearly not an English teacher, are you!
Dear Katy, not worked up,
Dear Katy, not worked up, just noting something self-conscious and baffling. ‘Tour’ is French, true, but it’s also in everyday English usage, and York is Norse (well done) but is a British city. ‘De’ isn’t English. That’s the difference. I’m sorry I had to spell it out. Have a nice weekend.
Now, ‘Ee, t’Tour Yorkshire’, that’s a name…
Fireworkboy wrote:Dear Katy,
Guessing you’ve not read the Tour website. They’ve called it Tour de as a nod to the legacy of last year. It goes along with calling the climbs cote. Oh and by the way if it was proper Yorkshire speak, more likely to be Tour o Yorkshire. Learn the proper use of “t”!
Dear Katy, not worked up,
Dear Katy, not worked up, just noting something self-conscious and baffling. ‘Tour’ is French, true, but it’s also in everyday English usage, and York is Norse (well done) but is a British city. ‘De’ isn’t English. That’s the difference. I’m sorry I had to spell it out. Have a nice weekend.
Now, ‘Ee, t’Tour Yorkshire’, that’s a name…
Dear Katy, not worked up,
Dear Katy, not worked up, just noting something self-conscious and baffling. ‘Tour’ is French, true, but it’s also in everyday English usage, and York is Norse (well done) but is a British city. ‘De’ isn’t English. That’s the difference. I’m sorry I had to spell it out. Have a nice weekend.
Now, ‘Ee, t’Tour Yorkshire’, that’s a name…