CYCLING fans across Yorkshire are once again preparing to cheer on some of the world’s top riders.

The 2019 UCI Road World Championships get underway on Sunday, September 22 - and will be preceded by the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International the day before.

Based in Yorkshire this time with Harrogate serving as the destination town for all races, the organisers are promising a ‘nine-day extravaganza of world-class cycling’. The championships will be the second major cycling event to be held in the region this year, following on from the Tour de Yorkshire in Spring.

The action comes to the Wharfedale area on Day 8 and Day 9, with the Women’s Elite Road Race and the Men’s Elite Road Race arriving on Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29, respectively.

The women’s race will set off from Bradford with a neutral start at 11.40am, with the actual start, from Otley Road, beginning at 11.58am. The riders are then expected to reach Menston at 12.05pm and will head through Otley five minutes later, at 12.10pm, as part of a winding, 149.5km route.

Organisers Yorkshire 2019, describing the start of the route, said: “The peloton will roll out to the north of Bradford and sample the delights of Shipley and Otley before the first categorised ascent comes on Norwood Edge.

“This winding ramp might distance some of the weaker climbers who will look to restore parity as the race continues to Pateley Bridge and up the Nidderdale valley.”

The 280km Men’s race, meanwhile, sets off from Leeds on Sunday, September 29 with the actual start taking place on Cookridge Lane at 9am. The riders are expected to reach Otley shortly afterwards, at 9.09am, and will then pass through Ilkley at 9.23am and Addingham at 9.29am.

The major road closures for the races will be in Harrogate, with a system of short, rolling closures being used for other towns and villages on the route.

The rolling closures, similar to those used during the Tour de Yorkshire, will take effect before, during and immediately after the race has passed each area and are expected to last about an hour.

Up to one million visitors are expected to visit the region to watch the championships and the organisers have made sure there are plenty of complementary activities taking place to keep everyone entertained.

Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, The Pigeon Detectives and The Feeling are among the big-name musical acts that will be performing at the event’s free Fan Zone on The Stray at Harrogate.

Cocker will be performing a DJ set at 8:30pm on Friday, September 27 following the Men’s Under-23 Road Race. Leeds-based indie rockers The Pigeon Detectives, meanwhile, will take the stage at 7:40pm on Saturday, after the women’s Elite race.

Also performing earlier on the Saturday will be Harrogate-based vocalist Litany, whose single Bedroom has racked up more than 13 million listens on Spotify, and popular tribute band UK Foo Fighters.

The Feeling will help round off the championships by performing from 6.30pm on Sunday, September 29, following the men’s Elite race. The band has had four top 10 singles and a number one album to date.

Different communities along the race routes have also been working to make sure the event is celebrated in style. In Otley each of the town’s pubs will be ‘adopting’ a cycling nation and having its name translated as required while flying the appropriate flag

Drinks and food from the different countries will also be on offer along with national costumes and music.

The Manchester-based Consul General of the Czech Republic, Ivo Losman, visited the town earlier this year to meet Mayor Peter Jackson and Otley Pub Club outside ‘his’ inn - The Red Lion or, as it will become, Červený Lev.

For more details about the championships visit https://worlds.yorkshire.com/ .