Sir Bradley Wiggins has confirmed his participation in the Tour of Britain, which gets under way on September 4th and comes to Cheshire East on Tuesday September 6th.
Wiggins, who claimed his fifth Olympic gold medal at Rio and his eighth cycling medal overall, will race alongside fellow Olympic gold medallist Owain Doull and Jonathan Dibben under the Team Wiggins banner.
This will be the ninth Tour of Britain race that Wiggins has competed in and increases the profile of the event, which has already benefited from the great success of Britain's cyclists in Brazil and Chris Froome becoming the first British three-time winner of the Tour de France.
Cheshire East Council leader Rachel Bailey, said: "This is tremendous news for the tour and can only further increase interest in this fantastic event.
"We are very proud to be hosting a stage fully within Cheshire East and look forward with great anticipation to seeing the roads of the Borough lined with our residents enjoying this very special occasion."
This follows last week's announcement that Britain's record Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish will be taking part in the Tour of Britain alongside fellow top sprinter André Greipel and former UCI World Hour Record holder Rohan Dennis.
The third stage of this prestigious event heads to Cheshire East on Tuesday, 6th September, when riders will cycle just over 111 miles between Congleton and Tatton Park, setting off at 11am and finishing at around 3.30pm.
They are expected to reach Alderley Edge just after 1.20pm, having cycled up Brook Lane from Great Warford and Chorley. They will proceed down London Road where the third sprint of the day will finish in the village centre.
Riders will then proceed up Macclesfield Road for the start of the King of the Mountains race, passing through Over Alderley, Prestbury, Bollington and Rainow before heading up to the Cat & Fiddle. The Tour of Britain will head back to Tatton Park via Siddington, Chelford, Marthall and Ollerton reaching Tatton Park about 3.15pm.
To minimise disruption across Cheshire East, all roads on the route will be closed using a rolling road block for around 40 minutes – both 20 minutes before and after the cyclists are expected to pass through each town. Spectators are urged to arrive in plenty of time to avoid the road closures.
Aldeli on Wilmslow Road have invited children from Alderley Edge Primary School to watch the race from outside their premises and they are also setting up an area for wheelchair users, offers a great spot from which to view the riders as they race by just ahead of the sprint finish. Anyone wishing to access this area is requested to call 01625 587509.
Photo: Sir Bradley Wiggins and Owain Doull.
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Watched the race in Castleton last year. So fast....
It's over very quickly. They will break speed limits, but don't get any ideas.