Luke Rowe, Owain Doull and Jon Dibben in Team Sky line-up for Tour de Yorkshire

The Welshman, who was a part of Chris Froome's Tour de France wins in 2015 and 2016, will be joined by Olympic gold medallist Owain Doull and world points race champion Jon Dibben in Team Sky's line-up for the three-day race.

The third edition of the event, which starts on April 28, will also include British road-race champion Adam Blythe and former winners Lars Petter Nordhaug and Thomas Voeckler, while Cofidis sprinter Nacer Bouhanni - a former points classification winner at the Giro d'Italia - will feature for the first time.

In the women's race, a one-day event which takes place on April 29, London 2012 silver medallist Lizzie Deignan will compete in her home county while current Olympic road-race champion Anna van der Breggen, two-time world champion Giorgia Bronzini and British road-race winner Hannah Barnes will also be in action.

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Sir 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."