Club hopes cycle race could get people on bikes

The British Road Championships usually attracts big crowds

Cycling club members hope the staging of an elite cycling event in their town will encourage more people to get on a bike.

The British National Road Championships are coming to Darlington, in County Durham, with circuit races held there on 21 June.

Many stars from the world of British cycling are taking part, including Megan Barker and Ollie Wood, who won the circuit race titles in 2023.

"It's just such good news for the town and for the sport of cycling," said Steven Fullerton, from Darlington Cycle Club.

"Because it's a circuit race, people will be able to see the riders close up, which should be really exciting," Mr Fullerton added.

He said the cycle club was "growing fast", having increased from 30 members a few years ago to "more like 170" now.

"If someone hasn't been a cyclist before and then they see these races, they might think they'd like to give it a go," he said.

Darlington Cycle Club is expanding and now has about 170 members

Along with the circuit races in Darlington, this year's British National Road Championships will also include road races in Saltburn, North Yorkshire.

Darlington Borough Council’s Libby McCollom said: "We're just so fortunate we've been successful in getting this event and we really hope it'll inspire young people to take up the sport."

Darlington successfully hosted the start of two stages of the Tour of Britain in 2008 and 2009, but this is the first major cycling event to be held there since.

The announcement was greeted with jokes online about potholes and people not using Darlington's cycle lanes

Some comments on social media questioned whether the town's road surfaces were good enough.

But Ms McCollom said: "Potholes won't be an issue."

"I'm not sure what the exact route will be but we'll obviously be checking the road surface and making sure it's as good as it can be," she added.

Follow BBC Tees on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].