DEVON COUNTY Council is gearing up to host Stage Six of the Tour of Britain.

From September 4 until September 11, Britain’s best cyclists will descend on the county for the prestigious road race, competing in eight stages of racing.

Stage six, on Friday, September 9, covers the route from Sidmouth to Haytor, Dartmoor and will be hosted by Devon County Council.

The 2012 Tour de France champion, Sir Bradley Wiggins, has announced he will be taking part in the race after recently winning his fifth Olympic gold medal in Rio 2016, taking his career Olympic medal haul to eight.

Team Wiggins includes fellow Olympic athletes Owain Doull, Jonathan Dibben, Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel and Steve Cummins.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highways, said: “It’s fantastic news that this Tour of Britain will see the biggest names in cycling in Greipel, Cavendish and now gold medallists Sir Bradley Wiggins and Owain Doull.

“The fact the tour regularly attracts the biggest names in world cycling demonstrates the global stature of the competition.

“I’m sure everyone will be delighted to see Sir Bradley return for what will be one of his last competitive races of his glittering career and what might be the last time we will see him racing in our county.

“I look forward to welcoming him to Devon, he is always a big draw and to have him racing through our county we can expect plenty of visitors and an excellent turnout right across Devon again, which is great news for the local economy.”

Tour of Britain Race director Mick Bennett said; “We are delighted to be welcoming two of our Olympic Champions to the Tour of Britain just three weeks after their success in Rio. As a former winner of the Tour of Britain it is always a pleasure to welcome Sir Bradley Wiggins back to Britain’s biggest race, while Owain Doull was the star of the 2015 Tour, showing he has a very bright future ahead of him.”