The Tour de Yorkshire will take place from the 29th April to the 1st May, alongside the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride on the final day, which is your chance to cycle on the same roads as the pros before they ride the final stage. The Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Day 2 has today been announced as the most lucrative women’s race in the world.

Yorkshire’s own World Champion Lizzie Armitstead is the first rider to announce she will compete in the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire on Saturday 30 April.

The race has secured title sponsorship with Asda supermarkets and will take place on exactly the same course as the men’s race being held later that day, on a 135km route from Otley to Doncaster.

Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and A.S.O have also announced that the prize fund makes it the most lucrative women’s cycle race in the world, with a total of £50,000 on offer to individuals and teams.

The first prize for this one day race will be £15,000, second will be £10,000 and third, £5,000, with prize money down to 20th place.

Otley born Armitstead, who currently tops the women’s world rankings after a series of impressive wins in the season so far, said:

“The Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s race will be my first race in the UK in my World Champions jersey and it’s an absolute dream to be starting in my home town.”

Speaking of the sponsorship and reasons to support women’s racing, Andy Clarke, Asda President and CEO said:

“It’s a privilege to be supporting the Tour de Yorkshire women’s race and helping to raise the profile of women’s sports. In 2014 Asda was the official partner of the Tour Makers for the Yorkshire Grand Départ, which was a resounding success. We’re incredibly proud of our Yorkshire roots and wanted to remain part of this exciting legacy that works to bring communities together in celebration of an amazing sport set against the backdrop of an unbeatable county.”

The series of announcements continued today with news that the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire will be broadcast live, on ITV4 and Eurosport.

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said:

“Today is a hugely significant milestone for women’s racing. We’ve come good on our promise to expand the women’s race and rather than rest at bringing parity in terms of the men’s route and broadcast coverage, we’ve gone further to offer the world’s most lucrative prize fund.

“Together with our sponsors, we’re bringing women’s racing the respect it deserves and I can think of no better way to start our race in Otley than with our very own World Champion on the start line.”

The Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire Race will see a ceremonial start at 8.15am in Otley before the race begins at 8.30am. The riders are expected to finish between 11.59am and 12.22pm in Doncaster.

Teams for both the men’s and women’s races were also unveiled in York today. As the women’s race is ranked 1.2 by the world governing body, UCI, it has been able to attract some of the world’s best riders as well as domestic teams. Armitstead will race with the Great Britain Cycling Team.

Don’t forget that you can be a part of the Tour de Yorkshire and feel like a pro for the day by signing up for the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride. There are limited places available so hurry – secure your place right away!