Yorkshire will host the start of the 2014 Tour de France.
The Grand Depart will return to Britain for the first time since 2007, when one million people lined the streets of London for the Tour's opening prologue.
Organisers Amaury Sports Organisation selected the county ahead of an Edinburgh start. Mark Cavendish, Ben Swift, double Olympic track champion Ed Clancy and Brian Robinson, the first Briton to win a stage of the Tour de France in 1958, all pledged their support to Yorkshire's bid.
Barry Hoban, winner of eight stages of the Tour and Malcolm Elliott, the first British rider to win a points jersey in a Grand Tour, were also backers of the bid.
Two days of racing will take place on July 5 and 6 in Yorkshire before the Tour moves on from Leeds to London and then across the channel to France.
British Cycling president Brian Cookson said: "The huge numbers who turned out to support the 2007 Grand Depart and the London 2012 road races show the passion we have for cycling.
"I'm sure Yorkshire will give the 2014 Tour de France a welcome which will stand out in the race's rich history."
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson added he was "thrilled" London would be a part of the event after a year in which the capital proved its "expertise not just in hosting world class sporting events, but in winning them too".