Sir Bradley Wiggins: British legend to ride in Tour de Yorkshire

Wiggins teamed up with Mark Cavendish to win madison gold at the 2016 World Championships

Sir Bradley Wiggins will take time out from his Olympic track preparations to ride in the Tour de Yorkshire.

The 2012 Tour de France champion has been focusing his efforts on qualifying for this year's Games in Rio.

But he will ride for Team Wiggins in the three-day race, which runs from Friday 29 April to Sunday 1 May.

World champion Lizzie Armitstead is in the women's one-day race, which starts in her home town Otley and follows the men's route, finishing in Doncaster.

British Olympic track champion Danielle King and Paralympic champion Dame Sarah Storey will also tackle the 135km course.

The men's race begins with a 186km race from Beverley to Settle and finishes in Scarborough after a 198km race from Middlesbrough.

Norway's Lars Petter Nordhaug won last year's race and is back to defend his title, with British road champion Pete Kennaugh also in the Team Sky squad.

Analysis

By Matt Slater, BBC Sport:

Sandwiched between older and bigger races, and forced to share its slot on the calendar with a key warm-up race for the Tour de France, the fledgling Tour de Yorkshire was always going to have to take baby steps to respectability.

But the field for the second edition of the race suggests this baby is finding its feet.

Sir Bradley Wiggins is back for the next stop on his farewell tour, as are last year's winner Lars Petter Nordhaug and French favourite Thomas Voeckler. Nordhaug's star-studded Team Sky are also bringing British duo Pete Kennaugh and Luke Rowe to give them a few options for victory.

Their main opposition is likely to come from a strong Orica GreenEDGE line-up - Bury's Adam Yates, in particular - and the Giant-Alpecin team led by great French hope Warren Barguil.

And if the men's roster looks like a step-up in quality on last year, the women's field is a giant stride forward, led by Yorkshire's very own world champion, Lizzie Armitstead.