Colne Town Centre Grand Prix

The second annual Colne Town Centre Grand Prix will be held in the Lancashire, England town of Colne on Wednesday, July 20. Last year, the inaugural event attracted 4,000 spectators and this year, organisers expect an even bigger crowd.

The line-up will include most of the UK's top riders who will race round 60 laps of an 800-metre circuit of Colne town centre. Organisers hope that multiple Olympic medalist Bradley Wiggins will be riding, as he did last year, plus other Olympic medalists Chris Newton, Rob Hayles and Paul Manning. There is also a race for club level riders and juniors, with a chance to see local junior star Stephen Burke of Colne, a member of the GB national junior squad.

The race is part of British Cycling's Elite Series and also part of the Pendle and East Lancashire Bike Fest 2005 - a series of cycling events in Pendle and Ribble Valley designed to encourage people to ride bikes.

The Fest 2005 includes a 100-mile race on Sunday, July 17 through the hills of Pendle and Ribble Valley which is part of British Cycling's Premier Calendar. On the same day, there will be a unique head-to-head sprint competition, the Science in Sport Sprint Challenge, featuring the country's best track sprinters. They will blast down the 500m finishing section of the 100-mile route at speeds of more than 45mph.

For more information see www.pendlebikefest.com.