Tour de France veteran Julian Dean will leave his skinny tyres at home on October 23 having entered the Singlespeed World Championships in his native New Zealand.

The 35-year-old Garmin-Transitions rider will join 900 other mountain bikers in Rotorua to fight it out for the coveted title.

Dean, who will ride for Team Bike Vegas/Kona, claimed three podium finishes at this year’s Tour de France in a race which also saw him head-butted by rival lead-out man Mark Renshaw, who was subsequently disqualified.

The man from Waihi started his race career on the BMX track and has been spotted on his mountain bike on the Whakarewarewa Forest trails, south of Rotorua, during the summer over the last few years.

“I’m really looking forward to participating, though solely from a fun point of view, and I’m super stoked to be supporting such a great event in Rotorua,” said Dean.

“Why am I doing something as crazy as this?  Because wherever a good laugh might be lurking is an absolute magnet for me…and [New Zealand team mechanic] Dale Hollows asked me, too.”

Hollows added: “Singlespeeding is really a return to the simple basics of cycling. Even in the early days of the Tour de France, the riders rode one-speed bikes.”