OAKWORTH rider Tom Moses has expressed delight after his JLT Condor team were added to the Tour de Yorkshire entry this week.

The former Oakbank School pupil admitted he had been shocked when the original line-up did not include the British outfit, despite huge success last season.

But organisers announced on Tuesday that JLT Condor and Team Raleigh GAC had also been invited to compete in the inaugural event from May 1-3.

And the race, featuring some of the world’s top cyclists, promises to be extra special for Moses, with stage three on Sunday, May 3 set to pass his front door – on his 23rd birthday.

The route is set to go through the Worth Valley, South Craven and Silsden as part of a 167km route from Wakefield to Leeds.

He said: “It was a shock not to be (originally) selected for the race, especially after we’d been the most successful UK team internationally last year.

“I do around 70 races per year and none of them will be as special as this one. To race on the roads I train on, and have ridden since I first started, will be really special.

“It will be nice to see all my friends and family at the side of the road that don’t usually get the chance to see me race.”

Sir Bradley Wiggins’ new development squad – Team Wiggins – are among the 18 line-ups selected, along with Team Sky and Team Giant Alpecin, which includes Marcel Kittel, who won last year’s first stage of the Tour de France in Harrogate.

Yet the initial omission of Team Raleigh GAC and JLT Condor, who had won ten UCI-ranked events last year under their former Rapha Condor name – more than the other British squads combined – provoked criticism on social media.

On top of their success, JLT looked a good fit for the Tour de Yorkshire with their strong links to the area.

Moses is not the only rider with local connections, with Huddersfield’s double Olympic champion Ed Clancy and Doncaster’s Graham Briggs also on the team.

Former Olympian John Herety, who is team manager at JLT Condor, was quoted as saying their original exclusion had felt like ‘a smack in the face’.

However, after a rethink from the organisers, he said: “It is great to be reconsidered for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, and the team thank them for their generosity.

“We look forward to working with the event and can’t wait to get racing in the magnificent North York Moors.”

The three-day race is expected to build on the success of last year’s Grand Depart for the Tour de France, with 11-time Paralympic champion Dame Sarah Storey also set to take part in the women’s race on May 2.

Meanwhile, Moses, who was heading for a possible top-ten finish in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games road race last summer before a puncture forced his retirement, and his team-mates are currently competing in the Tour de Normandie in France.

The Keighley rider was 17 seconds off the race lead before yesterday’s second stage.