Olympian Steven Burke to open new Pendle cycle hub

Olympic gold medal cyclist Steven Burke MBE will officially open the new track named after him tomorrow morning.

The Steven Burke Sports Hub at Swinden Playing Fields on the Nelson-Colne boundary will host a series of cycling-based events over the next few days, and Steven will perform the opening ceremony at 9am.

The programme gets under way at 7am this morning, with Pendle cycling organisation Go Velo gearing up for their 24 hourr ride the Tour de France distance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And Pendle’s Raleigh chopper riders will hold a chopper dash at 9-20am tomorrow in which they will be competing for a 1970s style cake kindly baked and donated by Oddies Bakery to mark Pendle’s 40th birthday.

Then it’s down to serious racing from 10am until 2pm with 120 young riders competing in the North West Youth League.

Coun. Nadeem Ahmed, who leads Pendle Council for parks and recreation, said: “We’re proud that all the hard graft and great team work to open this new cycle track has paid off.

“I urge everyone to come to our cycling festival and find out why we’re so passionate about cycling in Pendle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The new track at the Steven Burke Sports Hub is a brilliant new facility, both for competitive cycling and biking for leisure, for people of all abilities and ages.”

Peter Boast, of Cycle Sport Pendle has been pursuing the vision of a cycling hub in Pendle for the last five years and will be seeing the successful bids worked up with Pendle Council, cycling clubs and local schools coming to fruition.

The new 1.1km closed road circuit has been completed thanks to £250,000 from British Cycling and £150,000 from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund.

Pendle Council, Pendle Council’s Colne and Nelson Area Committees and the Lancashire Environment Fund provided £150,000 for this new facility, too.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Peter explained: “It’s been a great team effort and fantastic that our vision of a wonderful hub for cycling; including coaching, racing and cycling for leisure, has become a reality.

“It will be brilliant to introduce people of all ages to the exhilarating sport of cycling!”

The opening of the new all weather, all year round circuit will be followed by five days of special events leading up to the Tour de France and the Colne Grand Prix on Wednesday, July 16th.

They include the chance to try out a range of crazy bikes, to an adapted bike day for people with disabilities and end with an inter-schools racing final on Thursday from 1pm – 3pm.