People wanting to emulate the cycling heroics of Sir Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish have been urged to take care as they don the Lycra and hit the district’s busy roads.

With the Tour De France coming to parts of the district, including Keighley, Ilkley and Haworth, in a little over a year’s time, the number of bikes on local roads is expected to soar, as cyclists come from around the country to try out the route and locals are inspired to take up, or return to, cycling.

But they should become aware of the possible dangers on local roads with Councillor Steve Pullen (Lab, Keighley East) calling for better awareness of cyclist safety to avoid any tragic consequences of a rise in cycling.

Last week new figures showed that while road deaths across the country were at an all-time low, cycling deaths has risen by ten per cent.

Coun Pullen said: “We are going to be getting lots of cyclists with the Tour De France coming. We don’t want the number of accidents increasing.

“I just hope that more things like cycling proficiency courses are available or publicised. They do things in schools, but you will get a lot of adults taking on main roads for the first time too.

“People are going to want to get on their bikes and lose a few pounds, but they need to know that some roads can be dangerous and how to deal with them.”

He said with limited funds in the Council’s highway’s budget for cycle lanes, it will likely fall to cycling awareness and training courses to help keep roads safe.

He added: “It is also about making drivers aware there might be a lot more cyclists on the road. They need to start thinking that when they go round a corner there could be a bike there.”

The Council has said that although there were no specific Tour-related safety events planned, they would encourage anyone wanting to take up cycling to make use of a number of free safety courses.

Anyone over 16 is eligible for free training through the go:cycling project and free training is offered in schools.

Senior transport Planner Fiona Limb said: “We have courses for people to get back on their bikes and get their confidence back even if they haven’t been on a bike for many years. We have courses to help people navigate busy roads and roundabouts. The support is there for people who want to take it up, and we’d encourage people to use it.”

For more information visit wygo cycling.com.