TEAM Sky, Team Wiggins and Team Giant Alpecin are among the 16 teams who will be taking part in the first Tour de Yorkshire, it has been revealed today.

Former Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins is set to lead his own development squad, while Team Giant-Alpecin's Marcel Kittel is due to return to the county nearly a year after wearing the first yellow jersey in Harrogate in the Tour de France 2014.

Former England cricket star Matt Prior's ONE Pro Cycling team, which is set to include Embsay's Pete Williams, will also be taking part, and said: "We are incredibly excited and proud to be racing in the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, particularly in our first year.

"The Grand Départ in Yorkshire was a huge inspiration for us setting up this team as it showed the level of interest there is in cycling and racing in the UK. Our riders will be massively looking forward to being on the start line with some of the biggest teams in the world."

Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, said: “We will be glad to return to Yorkshire after the huge success of the Tour de France 2014 Grand Départ - the grandest ever.

"The first ever Tour de Yorkshire will be another occasion to showcase the outstanding landscapes of the county, especially of the coast where we didn’t go last year with Le Tour.

"Tour de Yorkshire will be a great opportunity to review young talents among British riders and enable them to ride with top Tour de France professional teams and cycling stars like Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel."

One of the first major names confirmed as taking part in the women’s race on day two is Dame Sarah Storey, one of Great Britain's most decorated female Paralympians in history, having won 11 gold, eight silver and three bronze medals across six Paralympic Games.

Last year, Sarah and her husband established women's team Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International, which dominated the UK domestic racing scene in their first season and, it has been announced today, will be racing the Women's Tour de Yorkshire.

The Tour de Yorkshire will take place on May 1-3.

Stage one is on Friday May 1 and starts in Bridlington and finishes in Scarborough. Stage Two is on Saturday, May 2 and starts in Selby and finishes in York, with a women's race also taking place.

Stage three is on Sunday, May 3 and starts in Wakefield and finishes in Leeds.

The race will be shown live on television in the on ITV, on Eurosport and in more than 70 countries around the world, so a huge television audience is expected.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "‎Our aim is for the Tour de Yorkshire to be one of the biggest and best three-day races in the world and this incredible line-up is evidence that we can achieve that.

"It's a testament to our county that some of the top riders in the world want to come here. We are going to put on a show people will remember for the rest of their lives, whether they're lining the route or watching on TV as it is broadcast to countries around the world.

"We've talked for several years about Yorkshire's potential as a county and as a destination – and now our collective ambitions and dreams are becoming a reality.

"There must be millions of people around the world who now know of Yorkshire, who didn’t a couple of years ago – we’re firmly front of mind.

"Our ground-breaking work builds on that and together we will cement Yorkshire’s place on the world stage as a visitor destination.”

Tour de Yorkshire team entrants: BMC Racing Team; IAM Cycling; Team Giant-Alpecin; Team Lotto NL-Jumbo; Team Sky; Cofidis, Solutions Credits; Cult Energy Pro Cycling; MTN-Qhubeka; Team Europcar; Roompot Oranje Peloton; Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise; Madison Genesis; NFTO; INE Pro Cycling; Team Wiggins; Great Britain national team.