THE eyes of cycling fans from across the globe will again be on Craven when the world's top riders power through in next year's UCI World Championships.

Many of the sport's star names are likely to feature in the showpiece Men's Elite Road Race from Leeds to Harrogate on Sunday, September 29, and the Men's Junior Road Race from Richmond to Harrogate on Thursday, September 26.

Both races are part of the nine-day championships, centred on Harrogate, which also include the women's elite and junior road races, men's and women's time trials, and para-cycling events.

The routes through Craven are very similar to that of the 2014 Tour De France stage, and will take in Addingham, Skipton, Rylstone, Cracoe, Threshfield, Kilnsey, Kettlewell, Starbotton, and Buckden, though the juniors race - in the opposite direction - heads towards Burnsall and Bolton Abbey at Threshfield.

The entire nine days of the championships are likely to provide a huge economic boost to North Yorkshire as a whole, with Harrogate serving as the destination of all races.

Craven District Council leader Cllr Richard Foster said: “We’re delighted to have two races from this prestigious event passing through our district. It will be brilliant to see some of the best cyclists in the world taking on the Tour de France route again and I’m sure we can recreate the spirit of that memorable event.

“The Tour de France in 2014 and more recently the Tour de Yorkshire races in 2015, 2016 and 2017 have demonstrated what a fantastic place Craven is for such world-class events.

"This is another opportunity for us to showcase our district across the globe, attracting more tourists, businesses and families to experience our wonderful countryside and community.”

This year's championships have been taking place in and around Innsbruck in Austria. Officials of the UCI - Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's governing body - said they had chosen Yorkshire for next year's event partly because of the successful 2014 Tour De France stage and of the subsequent 'legacy' Tour de Yorkshire races.

The news was also welcomed by North Yorkshire County Council chiefs. Leader Cllr Carl Les said: “We’re proud that North Yorkshire will host what can justifiably be described as the 'World Cup' of cycling. It’s a massive global sporting event and will again focus the eyes of the world on North Yorkshire, allowing everyone a wonderful opportunity to showcase our vibrant county to the world. I have no doubt the county will rise to the occasion."

UCI president David Lappartient said: “This magnificent region has left us in no doubt that the 2019 UCI Road World Championships will be a memorable occasion.

“The competitions in Yorkshire will open with the new Team Time Trial Mixed Relay, a UCI initiative that will replace the trade team time trial and will see men and women competing together for their nation, part of the UCI’s drive to further increase the attractiveness of our road world championships, encourage gender equality, and showcase national federations and their riders."