A TOP competitive cyclist has officially opened a primary school’s £30,000 cycling track.

Jess Learmonth cut the ribbon at the track at Burley Oaks Primary School yesterday, and the track will now be used by the school’s pupils and staff to keep fit and boost their cycle skills.

The track had been funded by the school’s PTA, which has held numerous events over the past two years to raise the money needed for the new facility.

The hope is that the track, made from local materials, will be used by all the pupils at the school, and help bring a lasting legacy of cycling events held in the area, including the Tour De France to the Tour De Yorkshire.

Miss Learmonth, 29, represents Team GB in triathlon events. Recently she won a European event in Austria and came second in a world event in Stockholm.

As well as cutting the ribbon on Friday’s opening, she rode the first lap of the track. She was then joined by children from the school.

After her morning at the school, on Langford Lane she Tweeted “Great kids, future champions! Enjoy the track.”

The children were invited to bring their bikes and scooters to the school for the opening event, and many took the chance to “bling” their bikes, festooning them in decorations and balloons.

Head Claire Lee said: “The money was raised through lots of different events like school fairs, discos, anything they could arrange.

“The money was being raised specifically for this track, it was good having an end goal in sight.

“Our school site manager had previously designed cycle tracks before working here, so building a cycle track is something we’ve been thinking of for a while.

“We have an enormous grounds at our school which are amazing, so it is really suited for a cycle track. It goes through the whole grounds, including the wooded area. It is a very challenging track, we have things like a wobbly bridge and some dips and bends.

“We’re very excited about it opening.

“Originally it was going to cost £25,00, but the cost went up and we’ve had to keep going with the fundraising.

“The aim is to have everyone riding. We’ve also recently spent about £10,000 from the school budget to buy bikes so all our pupils, even those without bikes, can get involved.

“We’ve been providing safety training for our staff and managed to get a few extra hours for staff to teach children on the track. Hopefully it will be used all the time. Children can use the track on lunch or breaks if they want.

“A lot of children hear already cycle. We’ve worked hard to promote it, and worked with cycling charity Sustrans.”