The 24-year-old from Leeds recently added the world mountain bike title to his growing palmeres last month in Glasgow, and enjoyed a victory in a Spring Classic earlier in the season.

Although he missed out on a stage win at this year’s Tour de France, he did finish 13th on the general classification after launching a more sustained bid over three weeks.

In the 2022 edition of the Tour of Britain, Pidcock sat just three seconds down on Movistar Team’s Gonzalo Serrano when the race was curtailed in 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Serrano beat him in a sprint finish in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, on the day before to assume control of the race.

Tom Pidcock will look for overall victory in the Tour of Britain over the coming week (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

This year Pidcock leads a six-strong Ineos team that contains fellow Yorkshiremen Connor Swift and Ben Turner, all of whom will be the focus of attention on Tuesday when stage three runs from Goole to Beverley. That stage begins at 11.30 on Boothferry Road with the stage proper beginning at 11.45 on Knedlington Road. The 2023 race covers 1,200 kilometres across eight stages, with this year’s champion crowned in historic Caerphilly following an undulating stage in South Wales including a climb up Caerphilly Mountain.

Other Yorkshire interest includes track specialist Oliver Wood of Wakefield riding for the Great Britain team, former Tour de Yorkshire stage winner Harry Tanfield for the TDT Unibet Cycling Team and Cottingham’s Finlay Pickering for the Trinity Racing outfit.

Tom Pidcock leads Ineos Grenadiers challenge in Tour of Britain