After announcing the route for the 2016 Tour of Britain, race director Mick Bennett is hoping Bradley Wiggins will give his race the honour of being the last one he rides in a glittering and spectacular career.

“He’s already said that he wants to come back for his final year of racing, but ultimately his team already have an entry as the highest placed domestic team from last year. Hopefully, it will be a gold medal lap of honour through the country for him and his team,” Bennett told Cyclingnews.

“It would be fantastic; He’s an icon, and it’s like having a rock star. He commands a fantastic presence, and he has this aura, and he lives up to every second of it. It means so much to the event. I mean, we have to lay on extra security for him. He’s very open and willing to stand and sign; he’s very much a people person. So is Mark Cavendish. There is no other sport in the world where you can get so close to all these superstars.”

After getting WorldTour teams like Sky, LottoNL, Lotto-Soudal, BMC, IAM, Etixx-QuickStep at the 2015 edition, it seems even more top teams want to come to Britain on September 4 to race, with Trek-Segafredo keen to make their debut and Orica-GreenEDGE wanting to return for the first time since 2012.

Getting the best riders may be tough as the race clashes with the Vuelta and Canadian races, just ahead of the Eneco Tour and sandwiched between the Olympics and Worlds.

“We have to bear in mind that we will have riders who haven’t got a spot in the Olympics who will be looking to have a good ride. The Vuelta will also still be on as will the WorldTour races in Canada,” explained Bennett. “The good thing for us though is that we are a week before the Eneco Tour, which is a WorldTour event and the only race similar to that is ours.”

Since having a much-needed makeover in 2004, the race has grown from strength to strength in its 12 seasons, but Bennett says he doesn’t want to move the race from 2.HC to WorldTour.

“We don’t want any more than that because it is a complete imbalance from the Continental and Pro Continental teams that will ride,” he said.