Sir Bradley Wiggins to lead Team Sky at next week's Tour of Britain

Sir Bradley Wiggins has been confirmed this morning as leading Team Sky’s squad in the Friends Life Tour of Britain, which starts in Liverpool on Sunday and concludes in London a week later.

The news follows confirmation that former world champion Mark Cavendish, recovered from the injuries he sustained in the Tour de France, will also ride the race, as will his sprint rival Marcel Kittel of Giant-Shimano.

Lining up alongside Wiggins for Sky will be Ian Stannard, who in 2008 when he was riding for Great Britain came to attention when he went on a solo break on a stage of the race from his home town of Milton Keynes to Newbury, and Ben Swift, who won a stage the following year while riding for Katusha.

Joining them in the WorldTour outfit’s six-man line-up for the race are Bernard Eisel, Sebastian Henao, and David Lopez.

Wiggins said: “The Tour of Britain is a special race for me so to be returning as defending champion is a real honour.

“It’s always been a tough race but the support we receive from the fans is incredible, and it’s our home tour so I’ve always enjoyed racing it.

He was originally due to ride the Vuelta as preparation for the time trial at the world championships later this month – the fact he isn’t riding it is due to Sky having changed its focus to back Chris Froome’s overall challenge after he targeted the Spanish race following his early exit from the Tour de France – but Wiggins insisted his home tour always figured in his plans for 2014.

“From the start of the year it’s always been a goal of mine to race to the Tour of Britain,” he said. “The race is growing in stature year on year and it’s our chance to go there with a strong team and race in front of home fans to thank them for their support over the season.

“Cycling’s now more popular than ever before in the UK with over a million more people are getting out on their bikes,” Wiggins continued.

“This is great for the sport we love and Sky and British Cycling have been at the heart of this transformation, so having a Sky Ride start on the same day as Stage One in Liverpool is brilliant.

“Hopefully it will inspire people to go on Sky Ride in the morning and then cheer us on in the afternoon,” he added.