International riders welcomed to Yorkshire championships

One of the UK's top cycling events, the National Elite Circuit Race Championships, is to welcome international riders this year for the first time.

The event, held in Beverley, East Yorkshire, attracts around 1,000 entries and this year's crop will include riders from 10 countries, including Poland, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

Beverley will become the first town to host the championships for three consecutive years.

The three-day event takes place over the weekend of July 16 to 18.

The highlight of the weekend will be the town centre circuit race on the evening of Friday, July 16, when 70 top riders will race through town centre.

This will be followed by three distance races across the Wolds on Saturday, July 17.

The weekend will close with the 98-mile East Yorkshire Classic on the Sunday.

According to the Hull Daily Mail, race spokesman Michael Boyle believes the launch of the Team Sky Pro Cycling squad will have a positive impact on the event in Beverley.

He said: "The publicity about Team Sky and the amount of money being invested into the team has led to a huge influx of commercial sponsors in the UK.

"This will add to the publicity of the event in Beverley.

"People travel from all over the country for the weekend, so as well as local residents getting to watch top riders for free, local businesses will see an increase in trade from visitors."