RACE organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and ASO have announced a host of big-name riders for the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire - with Tour de France winner Luke Rowe and world sprint stars Nacer Bouhanni and Caleb Ewan among those set to compete.

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 which also includes 2016 Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman.

The Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Saturday, April 29 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.

In addition, reigning British road race champions Adam Blythe (Dimension Data) and Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM) will be in action, along with three former race winners in Lars Petter Nordhaug (Aqua Blue Sport), Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) and Kirsten Wild (Cylance Pro Cycling).

The 2016 Points Classification and Stage One winner Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) also makes an appearance.

Yorkshire’s very own Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data) and Lizzie Deignan (Boels-Dolmans) will also be competing, with the full start lists for both races to be unveiled before the men’s race starts on Friday, April 28.

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.

“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.”