A major new international cycle race for Yorkshire has been confirmed.

The provisionally titled Tour de Yorkshire has been officially added to the world cycling calendar for 2015 by the sport’s world governing body, the UCI.

The event will be run by Welcome to Yorkshire and Amaury Sport Organisation, which operates the Tour de France, and is backed by British Cycling.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This new official international cycle race heralds the start of a world-class event for Yorkshire that we want to see grow over the coming years to become known the world over."

Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, said: “It is now time to work together to bring a new race that will see some amazing riders and passionate crowds once again line the streets.”

The new 2.1 Europe Tour world-class cycle race will take place in Yorkshire from May 1 to May 3 and there are plans to potentially include parts of the county not visited by the Tour de France. Full routes are expected to be unveiled in early 2015.

The format will see three full stages take place over the three days, and there is also an intention to have a women’s race and a mass participation sportive as part of the event.