OLYMPIC gold medallist Bradley Wiggins comes to town on Wednesday with the Tour of Britain cycle race.

Wiggins beat the world elite to win the 4,000 pursuit title in Athens last week but won't be resting on his laurels.

The tour, which begins at Sport City in Manchester, is a five stage race around the country and will be Wiggins' first cycling appearance since his historic triumph.

The first stage runs from Manchester to Blackpool and back again in an 120-mile trip passing through Bolton and Bury both ways.

The format has been designed to mirror the Tour De France and many of the participating riders will have competed in the famous French race.

The competitors can first be spotted cycling through Prestwich along Bury New Road at approximately 10.40am. They will travel through Whitefield, up the A56 Manchester Road, and reach Bury Town Hall at 10.50am. They will then continue up Brandlesholme Road, through Longsight Road and Bolton Road West, to Ramsbottom at approximately 11.05am.

The riders will face a gruelling climb out of the borough up The Rake and Helmshore Road as they battle for the Kings of the Mountain's title.

On the return leg, the cyclists will re-enter the borough via the B6213 near Tottington at 2.55pm before reaching Bury Bridge at the A58/A56 at 3pm. The first stage of the 500-mile race will end travelling back through Prestwich, via Bury Old Road (A665), reaching the Urbis, in Manchester, at 3.15pm.