STEVEN Burke is staying upbeat despite being forced to abandon stage one of the inaugural Tour of Yorkshire.

The 27-year-old from Colne was riding for his new squad, Team Wiggins, which has been formed by Sir Bradley Wiggins to help the 2012 Tour de France champion prepare for next year’s Rio Olympics.

And Wiggins made his debut for his self-titled squad during the three-day Yorkshire race, with Burke riding alongside him.

Sadly for Burke he was forced to abandon on Friday’s opening stage but says he is thoroughly enjoying his new environment having ridden for Haribo Beacon on the road last year.

“It’s fantastic to be on the same team as a Tour winner and the other things he’s achieved in cycling as well, I’m enjoying it thoroughly,” said Burke on settling into life at Team Wiggins.

“I’ve been teammates with him on the track before as well, so I know Brad a bit already – he’s a great guy to have around and to help the younger riders out.”

Burke - who himself won a bronze medal on the track alongside Sir Bradley at the Beijing Olympics - also has the 2016 Olympic Games as his main target as he seeks to retain the gold medal he won as part of the team pursuit squad in London three years ago.

Burke has been joined on the Team Wiggins roster by fellow track riders Andy Tennant, Owain Doull, Jon Dibben and Mark Christian with the squad aiming to give likely British Olympic riders, including Wiggins himself, the perfect preparation for Brazil.

Wiggins finished the Tour of Yorkshire in 59th place overall as Michael Thomspon ended as the team’s highest finisher in 48th place.

And Burke admits the race, which attracted 1.5million spectators over the three days, was a challenging experience.

“It was a very tough race, an extremely hard course and it took its toll,” he said.

“I gave it my all and that’s all you can do at the end of the day to be honest.”

But the East Lancashire star reserved special praise for the crowd, which was comparable to the Tour de France grand depart in Yorkshire last year.

“It was great to be out there, it’s the biggest race I’ve ever done on the road – it was a great experience,” added Burke.

“It’s all fantastic, it reminds me of last year and the grand depart – there were so many people out and giving their support on the course, which is great for cycling.”

Burke and Team Wiggins now turn their attention to the Wilton Grand Prix on Sunday.

The race is part of the Elite Road Series which began with the Chorley Grand Prix last month.

Burke is among the start list for Team Wiggins who are down in 11th in the team standings having picked up just three points from the opening two rounds.

The team classification is currently being led by the Team Raleigh GAC squad of East Lancashire pair Brad Morgan and Ian Wilkinson with the former also among the starters this weekend.

Padiham’s Simon Wilson, riding for Polypipe, is also slated to start.

Sunday’s racing gets underway at 11am over a 107 mile circuit race which finishes in Wilton.

Yorkshire Bank is an Official Partner of the Tour de Yorkshire and the ground-breaking Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries initiative. Visit www.ybonline.co.uk