Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome will both compete in next month’s Tour of Britain, Team Sky have announced.
The British duo, who finished first and third respectively in Paris last month, are the headline names for the eight-day stage race, which gets under way in Camarthenshire, Wales on Sep. 2.
It will be Welshman Thomas’ ninth appearance in the competition, and after the announcement, he revealed his excitement at competing on home soil again.
“As soon as I’d finished the Tour I knew I wanted to ride the Tour of Britain and race on home roads. It starts in Wales which will be special, and then I get to go and race across the whole of the UK. I can’t wait,” Thomas said.
“I want to go to the race in the shape to compete and enjoy it.”
Fresh from their Tour de France success, Thomas and Froome will be among the favourites to add to their medal collection next month.
But Thomas has also pinpointed the threat of another Sky rider, Dutchman Wout Poels ahead of the event.
“We’ll have to see how the next few weeks go but I’m looking forward to it and I know we will have a strong team there. Wout is looking really good at the moment too.”
News of Thomas and Froome’s participation will be seen as a major fillip for Tour of Britain organisers, particularly considering the overlap with the Vuelta a Espana.
And Race Director Mick Bennett admitted his delight at having signed up the pair to compete.
“To have two of Britain’s greatest ever riders — the reigning Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winners no less — competing in the race is fantastic news for our fans, who will line the streets in order to catch a glimpse of their heroes,” Bennett said.
Starting in Pembrey Country Park, Wales on Sep. 2, the Tour of Britain finishes in London on Sep. 9.