WHEN cycling stars line up for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire next Friday, Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead will be hundreds of miles from her Otley hometown.

The 26-year-old’s hectic schedule means she will miss out on taking part in the county’s new flagship event – a legacy of the phenomenally successful Tour de France in Yorkshire last summer.

Instead, she is likely to be in Luxembourg from May 1-3, competing in the... take a deep breath... Festival Luxembourgeois du Cyclisme Féminin Elsy Jacob with her Boels Dolmans Cycling team-mates.

But however far away from home she may be, the Commonwealth Games champion insists that God’s Own County is the best place to cycle in the world.

“There's such a buzz about cycling in Yorkshire at the moment,” she said.

“As a county we've produced some of the best cyclists in the world and we're very proud of our cycling history.

"For me, Yorkshire's the best cycling destination in the world. The scenery's beautiful and the terrain is tough, but it's training in these conditions that makes Yorkshire's cyclists such strong competitors. It is just a really friendly place to go out on your bike.

“It's fantastic the Tour de France has inspired a new race in Yorkshire.”

The inaugural Tour de Yorkshire features a three-day men's event from Friday May 1-3 and a women's race of four 20km laps in York a week tomorrow.

While Armitstead will be unable to attend, she believes the legacy of the Tour de France will have people lining the route and getting on their bikes.

She said: “When I’m in Otley now I see more and more people out cycling. I think watching the Tour has given people who are maybe thinking about giving it a go that extra push.

“The impact of the Tour has been big and has inspired even more people to get on their bikes and take a deeper interest in cycling.”

So far, 2015 has been a year of success for Armitstead.

The former Prince Henry’s Grammar School pupil won the women’s Tour of Qatar in February and finished second and third respectively in the Strade Bianche and Het Nieuwsblad.

She has made an excellent start in her quest to defend her coveted UCI World Cup title, going top of the 2015 standings following victory in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda in Italy. She could only finish eighth though in the Tour of Flanders after an early puncture and a snapped pedal cleat in the closing sprint.

Despite all her success, however, Armitstead has not forgotten her Otley roots.

“My favourite place to cycle in Yorkshire is a ride from my house in Otley up the Wharfe Valley before turning right up towards Stump Cross caverns and then across the windy moors home,” she said.

“If the weather is good there is nowhere better to train.”