Olympic gold medal winning cyclist Chris Boardman has been named as the ambassador for the Friends Life Tour of Britain.
Boardman, who became a household name after winning gold at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, will represent Friends Life in the build up to the Tour of Britain offering insight and expert analysis ahead of the race.
He will also continue to represent the insurer next year ahead of the Friends Life Women's Tour and the Tour of Britain 2015.
Boardman said: "I've been speaking to the Government recently and one of the things they want cycling to do is partner with industry to make the sport sustainable and to give more people a stake in what we're trying to do. Everyone is now getting behind what is a fantastic sport."
Since Boardman's career as a professional cyclist came to an end he has developed his own range of bikes and recently working as a commentator on the Tour de France and at the Commonwealth Games.
In his ambassador role, will be making a series of short films about cycling, ranging from how to get started in the sport to analysis of the Tour and looking back on his career.
Friends Life announced that it was to become the first title sponsor the Tour of Britain last month. It followed the great success of the inaugural Friends Life Women's Tour earlier this year, which the company has also agreed to sponsor in 2015.
The Tour of Britain is the UK's biggest professional cycle event, with more than 100 top cyclists racing through nine stages, covering more than 1,350 kilometres.
The 2014 event starts on 7th September in Liverpool and runs for eight days before culminating in a time trial and Criterium in London on 14th September.