Roche set to battle Wiggins for Tour of Britain glory

Nicolas Roche will be one of the race favourites for this month’s Friends Life Tour of Britain, after his participation was confirmed by his team Tinkoff-Saxo yesterday.

Roche could rival defending champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) for overall victory, although the four-time Olympic champion’s participation is still to be confirmed.

Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel, the world’s leading sprinters, will also go head-to-head in the race, organisers have announced.

The pair will line-up in Liverpool on Sunday for the opening stage of the race, which concludes in London a week later, having done battle on just a handful of occasions this year.

Kittel (Giant-Shimano) won four Tour de France stages to Cavendish’s two in 2013, while he also won the opening stage of the 2014 race to Harrogate as his rival crashed out.

Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) required shoulder surgery but secured two wins in the Tour de Poitou-Charentes last week.

Kittel again won four stages of the Tour de France in 2014, including on The Mall in London, and will be seeking victory on Whitehall on September 14.