BRADFORD is to host the start of the Women’s Elite Road Race at the 2019 World Championships based in Yorkshire.

The women’s field, which could include former world champion Lizzie Deignan, will start from the centre of Bradford and head north via Shipley and Otley, Lizzie’s home town.

The 92.8-mile (149.5km) race will be held on Saturday, September 28.

And the Men’s Elite Road Race will also go through the district the next day, passing through Otley, Ilkley and Skipton on its way from Leeds to Harrogate.

The announcement was welcomed by Coun Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s, Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, who said: “It is so exciting that the 2019 UCI World Road Championships are coming to the Bradford district and that we will get to see these top-class athletes in our district over two days of this prestigious event.

“We are delighted that not only the world’s best women cyclists will be setting off from Bradford city centre for the Women’s Elite Road Race, but also that the Men’s Elite Road Race will be coming through our beautiful spa town of Ilkley and delightful village of Addingham.

“We have already seen the economic and social benefits of hosting major cycle races, when we had the Tour de France Grand Depart come to the district across both stages in 2014. We have also hosted the Tour de Yorkshire numerous times including as both a start and a finish location.

“The 2019 UCI World Road Championships is the chance for us to extend our famous Bradford hospitality to the thousands of fans from across the world who follow the cyclists to the event, as well as to showcase the best of our district to the estimated 225 million people who follow the race on television.

“I am sure that the event will be met with the same level of creative enthusiasm demonstrated by the fantastic land art and route dressing that was produced for the Tour de Yorkshire, which saw a win for the district in the land art competition in 2017 and Ilkley win the best dressed host location in 2018.”

The 2018 Championships are currently taking place in Austria and Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Sir Gary Verity led a packed presentation of the Yorkshire 2019 event on Wednesday evening. Prime Minister Theresa May concluded the presentation via video message, lending the UK Government’s full support.

Sir Gary said: “It is a great honour to be hosting the 2019 UCI Road World Championships. This will be the most inclusive and diverse Championships ever held and cement Yorkshire’s place as a world-class cycling destination.

“The countdown is now well and truly on and there will be many people in Yorkshire and across Britain who are looking forward to this iconic event. We can promise huge, passionate crowds, stunning scenery and epic racing.

“We have worked hard with the UCI to design a challenging and spectacular range of routes which take in all four corners of the county. We are thrilled to be able to share these routes and are sure they will make for exciting racing.”

The 2019 World Championships are receiving unprecedented financial backing with the UK Government and UK Sport committing £12 million to deliver a truly world-class event.

The Championships will feature a whole week of racing with the Para-cycling events starting the programme on Saturday, September 21, followed by the new Team Time Trial Mixed Relay the next day and individual time trials during the week.

All the events finish on a circuit of Harrogate.