OLYMPIC heroes and some of the world’s best cyclists will descend on Pendle this weekend.

The villages of Barley, Roughlee and Downham will be hosting a televised leg of the British Road Race Championships, in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

Around 130 of the best road riders in Britain line up at Barley at 12.30pm on Sunday for the men’s championship event, preceded by the ladies’ race which rolls underway from the same Pendle Village at 8.30am.

The ladies will cover eight laps of a very hilly and twisting circuit of just over seven miles, with the men covering the same roads 15 times.

Some of the biggest names in the sport will be competing with 10-times champion Nicole Cooke starting the ladies race and Mark Cavendish and David Millar just two of the big names down for the men’s race.

Beijing bronze medallist and Colne favourite Steven Burke and fellow Pendle-based riders Ian Wilkinson, a north-west champion, and UK Elite rider Paul Oldham are all looking forward to performing on home soil tomorrow.

Steven said: “It’s great to have the national championships right here on my doorstep in Pendle.

“It’s a really challenging circuit with a long hard climb towards Pendle Hill and some tricky descents.

“Fifteen laps will sort out the really strong riders, with the climbing specialists likely to come to the fore.”

Borough leaders are looking forward to the national exposure the event, which also features a women’s championship round, will have for Pendle.

Council leader Coun Mike Blomeley said: “With live TV coverage, this is a brilliant chance for us to get Pendle’s wonderful country-side and best-kept villages under the spotlight.

“To have a major national sporting event in Pendle is a real coup.

It will be a wonderful free day out for Pendle residents – and a boost for our local tourism industry.”

Both races start and finish in Barley but getting to the Pendle Village will take some planning.

There is no real problem arriving by bike except the inevitable steep climbs on the way and the fact that there is only one route into Barley that is not part of the closed roads of the race circuit – that is via Newchurch-in-Pendle.

Many roads in the area are closed to traffic so, by car, the recommended route is via Pasture Lane in Barrowford which will go via a one-way system to a field where parking is available with a one mile or so walk to the race circuit.

The action – and beautiful Pendle countryside – will be live from 3pm on Eurosport 2.

Saturday will see a round of the National Cyclo-Sportive tournament being held, on part of the course being used by the elite riders on Sunday.

The Colne Grand Prix, another mainstay of Pendle’s annual cycling festival, will take place around the town centre’s one-way system on Wednesday, July 14.