“I’m absolutely over the moon."

That was the reaction of New Mill cyclist Gabz Cullaigh who has been selected to ride for Team GB in the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire.

The19-year-old rider said: “To be competing in the first Tour de Yorkshire and riding through my home village on the last day is just a dream come true for me. I can’t believe it just yet!”

Team riders were announced today, just 11 days before the first day of the event on Friday, May 1.

They include Sir Bradley Wiggins, Olympic gold medallist and former Holme Valley Wheeler Ed Clancy and top Yorkshire rider. Ben Swift.

The line-up also includes top German springer Marcell Kittel and former Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez.

On Sunday, May 3, the riders will pass through New Mill between 1pm and 1.30pm on the leg through Huddersfield and Calderdale, and Cullaigh will be passing within 120 metres of his home on Sude Hill at the bottom of the long downhill stretch from The Sovereign to the centre of the village at a likely speed of more than 45 mph.

“We will only catch a couple of seconds of him flashing through, but we’ll be celebrating all afternoon” said father John

Cullaigh learned of his selection on his arrival in Manchester Airport from the five day Tour du Loir et Cher

“This five day event was perfect preparation for the TdY, even though there weren’t many hills the like of which we’ll meet in Yorkshire. With 180 riders in the field competition was fierce. The rest of the squad are really up for it” said Gabz.

The New Mill rider is in his first year of the U23 Olympic Academy, the third stage of the Olympic Programme, having graduated from the U16 Talent Team, through two years of the U18 Olympic Development Programme. He joined the Academy full time in October last year, and this year has spent four weeks early training in Australia, two weeks in Mallorca and four weeks in Belgium.

“There’s a great esprit de corps in the squad and we know how important and special the Tour de Yorkshire is for all of us. The competition is going to be tough but we work really hard for one another so we can’t wait to get going” said Gabz.

Gabz’s father John said: “We’re all delighted for him. His first target of the year was to be selected for the Tour of Flanders and his second the TdY. He knows what is expected of him and will give it 110%. He’s a strong rider with a tremendous work ethic and the mix of distance and hills will be just what he likes.

“There can’t be much of the course that he doesn’t know reasonably well, particularly the last stage. There’ll be lots of people out in the village watching him”.

Having just turned 19, Gabz is the youngest member of the eight man squad which includes Germain Burton, Scott Davies, Matt Gibson, Jake Kelly, Chris Latham, Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood from Wakefield.

“We are all delighted for him and we’ll all be out there on Sunday waving him through the village”, said neighbour Ann Beal. “He has worked so hard for this. We couldn’t be prouder”.

For a full list of riders scroll down and find out more about the teams here.

To find out when the Tour de Yorkshire will pass close to you check our guide here.

To see where the spectator hubs are with big screens, entertainment and refreshments follow this link

And here's the route that passes through our area - stage three - in pictures