TOP cyclocross riders from the region will contest the North of England CycloCross Championships at Brockhole Visitor Centre on the shores of Windermere this weekend.

The Lakes Road Club has joined together with Staveley-based cycle superstore Wheelbase and the Lake District National Park to develop Brockhole as a new cyclocross venue.

Twelve months ago Brockhole was used to stage cyclocross racing for the first time when a round of the North West CycloCross League was held there.

After the success of that mud-splattered, but well-organised event, the Lakes club have been rewarded with hosting the 2010 North of England Championships.

Paul Loftus of the Lakes RC said: "Our two-year lan is to host at UCI sanctioned round of the National CycloCross Trophy in 2011 or 2012.

"In order to do this we need to prove that we can organise and deliver a professional and well-run event and we intend to do this with the North of England Championships."

The Brockhole centre is a perfect venue, he said, for first-class cyclocross racing with a large country house building as its base, 200 car parking spaces, a large cafe and historic gardens stretching down to Windermere and landscaped woodlands.

Cyclocross racing is one of a series of events planned for Brockhole in coming months and underpins the Lake District National Park strategy of becoming the 'Adventure Capital' of the UK.

David Switzer of the LDNP said: "We are delgihted to welcome cyclocross racing to the Lake District and Brockhole.

"The site has been the Lake District Visitor Centre for 40 years and has a Grade 2 listed garden designed by Thomas Mawson.

The Lakes Road Club, Wheelbase and ourselves have worked hard to map out acourse that is challenging, fun and also respects the garden and ecology of the site."

LDNP Chief Executive Richard Leafe will present the prizes.

Toby Dalton from Wheelbase.co.uk said: “ We are delivering a national category A race and everything needs to be of the highest standard.

“It’s superb to see so much effort go into supporting cyclocross in the North West. We looking forward to a good race!”

Timetable Saturday - There will be Go Cross races for under 16-year-olds that have not experienced cyclocross before. There is no charge to enter and mountai nbikes are welcome. The U12/U14/U16 races start from noon.

Sunday - The North of England Championship races start from 10.30am to 1.30pm with registration in the restaurant next to Brockhole’s main building. The presnetation will be at 3pm.