ONE of the country's top women cyclists will be in action at Ramsbottom on Sunday when the Lancashire Road Club hold their annual Rake Hill Climb event.

Angela Hunter of the GS Strada Club will be aiming to beat the women's record which currently stands at 3 minutes 30 seconds.

Hunter, aged 32, is expected to give many of the men in the top-quality field a run for their money in a competition which is the richest cycle race in the world on a pounds-per-yard basis.

She is the current British 10-mile time trial champion, as well as the current 50-mile title holder, and has also enjoyed enormous success on the track in pursuit and sprint events.

Now she has got her sights firmly fixed on the popular race over a course that will be the venue for the National Hill Climb Championship in 2005.

The man to beat will once again be Formby's Jim Henderson who will be going for his sixth championship win in seven years over the punishing climb.

The lung-bursting drag begins at lamp post number 3 outside the public library, in Carr Street, Ramsbottom, and proceeds via Carr Street, Tanners Street, Rawson's Rake and The Rake to finish at the lamp post opposite Exeter Cottage, Chapel Lane, Holcombe Village, approximately 120 yards before the junction with Helmshore Road.

The average gradient of the 947 yard course is 1 in 8.8 with a maximum gradient of 1 in 4.8.

And there is plenty of incentive for anyone who can break five-time winner Jeff Wright's record of 2 minutes 14 seconds, with a cash prize of £100 up for grabs.

That's on top of a first prize of £600, provided by Geoff Smith Cycles of Bolton.

The event is sponsored by Bury Metropolitan Council, Lusso and Georgia Pacific with cash prizes down to 10th position, as well as for the best women, junior, veteran and team finishers.

The first competitor will set off at 12.31pm with the final one, reigning champion Henderson, going at 1.44pm.

The roads on the course will be closed from 12.15pm to approximately 1.30pm and the organisers would like to thank local residents for their co-operation and tolerance on the day.