WEST Lancashire’s adopted son Bradley Wiggins will enjoy a homecoming of sorts after his High Road team confirmed they will take place in this year’s Tour of Britain.
Wiggins, together with fellow team-mates at High Road, including Mark Cavendish and Roger Hammond, have been named in the provisional line-up for the Tour of Britain, which takes place this September.
The 2008 eight-day event gets underway in London on September 7 before ending in a spectacular circuit around Liverpool on September 14 to mark the city’s celebrations as European Capital of Culture.
Although the exact route of the final stage from Blackpool to Liverpool has not yet been confirmed, it is expect to run a similar course to the 2006 race and take in the majority of climbs Wiggins trains on when he is at home in West Lancashire.
Last time the North West stage of the Tour ran from Blackpool to Liverpool, it attracted 60,000 spectators. This year, as the region hosts the final leg to coincide with Liverpool08, the Tour is expected to attract even more spectators.
Stage 8 of the 2008 race is likely to start in Blackpool, taking in steep climbs across Trough of Bowland and Waddington Fell before heading through Tarleton, Banks, Southport, Formby, Thornton, Crosby, Bootle and then finishing with several spectacular, fast-paced laps around the heart of Liverpool City Centre.
Mick Bennett, Tour of Britain technical director, said: “Team High Road is the first of a number of exciting announcements in the 2008 team line up.
“Having a team that includes Cavendish, Wiggins and Hammond on the roads of the UK just after the Olympics is a mouth-watering prospect to say the least.
“Mark and Roger in particular have contributed a great deal to the success of the race in recent years and it's great to have them back again."
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