TEAM Wiggins star Steven Burke has admitted the chance to join the new-look squad was too good an opportunity to miss as he prepares an assault on the Rio Olympics.

Burke, who won gold as a member of the British team pursuit squad in 2012, will line-up in this weekend’s three-day Tour of Yorkshire race which will see Sir Bradley Wiggins make his debut for the squad as he returns to the UK domestic scene from Team Sky.

MORE TOP STORIES:

And Colne’s Burke admits the chance to train alongside Wiggins, and other hopefuls for a team pursuit spot next year such as Andy Tennant and Owain Doull, was the main attraction for him joining the squad over the winter.

Burke said: “I see riding for the team as a fantastic opportunity for me and it will be great to be around my team-mates a lot more during the summer in preparation for Rio next year.

“I am very much looking forward to it.

“But the main goal is to win gold in Rio.”

Burke is one of an eight-strong Team Wiggins line-up with Wiggins himself the main attraction.

But there are plenty of other stars racing the inaugural event launched on the back of Yorkshire’s successful hosting of last year’s Tour de France start.

Team Sky will be competing with Yorkshireman Ben Swift among their ranks while German sprinter Marcel Kittel, who won the opening stage of last year’s Tour de France in the county, is in the Team Giant-Alpecin squad.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler is in the Europcar squad while Spanish Olympic medalist Samuel Sanchez will line-up for BMC.

There will also be another pair of East Lancashire riders in the race with the event mixing world tour teams with British professional squads.

Ian Wilkinson and Bradley Morgan are in the Team Raleigh GAC line-up with the squad a late addition to the line-up after being controversially overlooked when the initial team selection was revealed.

Barnoldswick’s Wilkinson and Morgan, from Chorley, have both enjoyed strong starts to the season with Wilkinson fifth in last weekend’s CiCLE Classic in Rutland.

The race starts on Friday with a 174km stage from Bridlington to Scarborough before Saturday’s second stage takes the riders 174km from Selby to York.

Stage three on Sunday starts in Wakefield and passes through Holmfirth and Hebden Bridge giving East Lancashire fans a chance to watch the race as it crosses briefly into the area at Blackstone Edge Reservoir before finishing in Leeds.

The event also sees a women’s one-day race which takes place on the Saturday and features East Lancashire pair Rebecca Rimmington (IKON Mazada) and Amy Gornall (Aprire Bicyles/HSS Hire) as well as Barnoldswick-based team Hope Factory Racing’s Annabel Simpson. Also scheduled to start are Olympic champion Laura Trott and Paralympic star Dame Sarah Storey.

The race will be held over four laps of a 20km circuit around York before the men’s race.