THE timings have been announced for the women’s elite World Championships road race which will start from Bradford in September.

The race, which is expected to feature home favourite Lizzie Deignan, from Otley, will begin with a neutralised start outside City Hall in the city centre at 11.40am on Saturday, September 28.

The riders will head out of the city along Cheapside, Manningham Lane, Lister Park and Bradford Road to Shipley with the flag due to drop for the official start on the A6038 Otley Road at 11.55. The route of the race then takes the cyclists through Menston at about 12.02 and Otley at 12.07 before heading off into the Yorkshire Dales to finish at Harrogate later that day.

The men’s elite race, which takes place the next day, also comes through the Bradford district after it starts in Leeds. From Otley at an expected 9.09am its route follows the A65 through Ilkley at 9.21 and then Addingham on to Skipton and then via the Dales to Harrogate.

Most of the other races over the week-long cycling extravaganza take part in other parts of Yorkshire with only the men’s junior race on September 26 coming close to the district when it goes through Bolton Abbey.

Road closures are expected along the route on the days of the events as happened when Bradford hosted the start of a stage of the Tour de Yorkshire in 2017.

Millions of spectators are expected to line the routes over the nine days of action, with the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International taking place on Saturday, September 21, before the Championships themselves run between September 22-29.

Timings have been calculated by anticipating the riders’ average speeds, but they are subject to change depending on variables such as wind speed, direction and how aggressively the athletes race.

Yorkshire 2019 CEO Andy Hindley said: “It’s exciting to share these timings as spectators can now plan exactly where and when they want to watch the action.

“That opening weekend with the Yorkshire 2019 Para-Cycling International and inaugural Team Time Trial Mixed Relay is going to start things off with a bang and we’re also arranging a host of family friendly activities across those two days that will be appealing to spectators old and young.

“Once those are done and dusted it’s on to the longest-standing races on the programme – the individual time trials and road race events. Those always prove spectacular occasions with really dramatic racing. We can’t wait for this global celebration of cycling to commence and we look forward to making more exciting announcements in the months to come.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “We are really excited to be hosting the UCI Road World Championships in the district over two days. We have the Elite Women’s Race starting in City Park on Saturday 28 September at approximately 11.40am as well as the Elite Men’s Race going through Ilkley and Wharfedale on Sunday 29 September at around 9.20am.

"Lots of work is going on behind the scenes in preparation for this prestigious event. We are planning some great activities for residents and visitors to get involved in; these include a Women in Cycling Conference, a mass participation cycle ride in the city centre as well as an event involving our many local cycling clubs.

"There will also be lots of things for people to do on the weekend and in the run-up to the event, including getting involved in dressing the route and creating land art. More details about the activities and events as well as operational details such as road closures will be released in the coming months.”

The full schedule and race timings can be viewed online at yorkshire2019.co.uk/timings.