The mountain bike World Cup will take place near Pickering

Almost 50 teams from around the world are expected at Dalby Forest for the International Cycling Union's mountain bike World Cup which starts on Friday.

The pro-sprint eliminator event in Pickering town centre will be followed by the first round of the World Cup, based on a 6.5km course.

Alan Eves of the Forestry Commission told BBC Radio York: "Dalby's a fantastic venue for the event.

"We have perfect facilities here and fantastic terrain."

He added: "We've been working on this for the last year and a half."

The event's epicentre on Saturday and Sunday will be the Adderstone Field, where the event village will cover 40,000 square metres, with around 5,000 spectators expected.

"We normally have around 5,000 people here at our concerts, so in terms of the facilities and infrastructure, we'll have everything in place. Our staff are used to managing large numbers of people," Eves added.

Volcanic ash permitting, the site will host 49 teams from across the world, a larger and more mobile clientele than most pop and rock bands.

It's about sport development and creating more opportunities for more people to ride bikes Jonny Clay, British Cycling event director

"There's more organisation required and that's been led by British Cycling just because of the scale of bringing all these international teams on to site.

"This is the first time for the World Cup. Hopefully we'll have it for the next two years, and we'll learn from what goes on at the weekend."

Jonny Clay, the event director from British Cycling, added: "As important as the financial viability of the event, at least, is the legacy side.

"We have a major event strategy. It's about sport development and creating more opportunities for more people to ride bikes."

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