Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O have announced a host of big-name riders for the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire, with Adam Blythe, Luke Rowe, Nacer Bouhanni and Caleb Ewan among those set to compete.
British Road Race champion Blythe who hails from Yorkshire will line up alongside former winner Lars-Petter Nordhaug as part of the Aqua Blue Sport team.
Welshman Rowe, who has been part of the last two Tour de France wins, will be joined in a strong Team Sky line up by Olympic Gold Medallist Owain Doull and 2016 World Track Champion Jonathan Dibben.
Bouhanni, one of the world’s top sprinters who has five Grand Tour stage wins to his name and has already claimed the Nokere Koerse and Paris–Camembert titles this season, will head up the Cofidis Solutions Credits team while fellow star sprinter Caleb Ewan leads the Orica-Scott charge in a squad that also includes 2016 Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman.
Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), 2016 Points Classification and Stage One winner Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) and another Yorkshire rider Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data) will also make an appearance.
The Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Saturday 29 April also boasts a top-quality field with Olympic Road Race Champion Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans), two-time World Champion Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle High5) and 2017 Tour of Flanders winner Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb) all on the start line.
Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), Kirsten Wild (Cylance Pro Cycling) and Lizzie Deignan (Boels-Dolmans) are also set to be in attendance, with the full start lists for both races being unveiled before the men’s race commences on Friday 28 April.
Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive Gary Verity said: “It is exciting to be able to unveil this first wave of big-name riders and the strength of this list demonstrates how highly the Tour de Yorkshire is regarded.
“The third edition will be the biggest and best one yet, and with World Champions, Olympic Gold Medallists and Grand Tour stage winners on the start list, we can guarantee three days of great racing.
“Yorkshire is already gearing up to celebrate the race with banners, bunting and giant land art projects springing up right across the county, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone.”
