Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish heading to the Chase

Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and world road champion Mark Cavendish are to race through Staffordshire.

The pair will be part of Team Sky's line-up for next month's Tour of Britain.

They will speed through Stone, Stafford, Brocton, Cannock Chase, Rugeley and Blithfield before heading north of the county on the 92-mile Staffordshire stage.

Thousands of fans are expected to line the route on September 13, bringing a boost to the region's economy.

It will be Wiggins's return to competitive action less than a month after adding Olympic gold to his historic yellow jersey win. The 32-year-old has been given extra time off by Team Sky following his hugely successful summer and is not taking part in this week's Tour of Denmark as originally planned.

Cavendish, the first British rider to win the green jersey in the Tour de France, was a two-stage winner in last year's Tour of Britain.

The cyclists are expected to ride through Stone at 10.54am, reaching the glacial boulder near Chase Road, Brocton, part of Cannock Chase, at 11.22am.

Members of Stafford Road Club will help to marshal the event on the fifth day of the eight-stage race. President Reg Pearce said local traders would enjoy a boost due to the amount of people flooding in to watch.

He said: "Although both have taken part in the tour in previous years, this time it will be on the back of their enormous recent successes. We are expecting crowds to line the route several people deep to honour their achievements."

He said the club's own membership had doubled in the past two or three years inspired by the ascendency of British cyclists. Tour director Mick Bennett said: "To have the reigning Tour de France and Olympic time trial champion, and the current world champion competing in The Tour of Britain is a dream for us."