YORK-born Olympian Charly Wegelius will be just one of the attractions as the National Road Race Championships return to Yorkshire for the first time in 20 years.

The prestigious event will provide the highlight of a week-long Yorkshire Festival of Cycling from tomorrow to June 26.

Wegelius, 27, will line up in the elite men's race which will start and finish at Duncombe Park, Helmsley. The former Bishopthorpe School pupil will be up against defending champion Roger Hammond, who is a Discovery Channel team-mate of the legendary Lance Armstrong.

The 206-kilometre race, using circuits of Ryedale with Hovingham as its hub, will see the country's top riders tackle a rolling circuit on Sunday, June 26 (10m start).

Wegelius, who competed in last year's Athens Olympics, is returning to his home county after a strong showing in the Giro d'Italia.

The Ryedale Ride will provide members of the public with a chance to take part in a 50km race, starting from Duncombe Park at 10.30am.

The race is being held in partnership with Cancer Research and will use part of the Championship course before heading north on a loop through Kirkbymoorside and back into Helmsley.

Entry can still be made online at www.cancerresearch.co.uk

A Ryedale Youth Challenge, which is a team event for British Cycling's "Go-Ride" youth-orientated clubs, will also be held.

A day earlier, the country's best women elite and under-23 cyclists will be hoping to challenge defending champion and world number one Nicola Cooke, from South Wales, over a 106km course starting at 11am.

The traditional York Rally, organised by the Cycling Touring Club, will also open on Saturday, June 25 at Knavesmire with 15,000 enthusiasts expected to take part.

Grass-track racing, the Ron Kitching Mass Ride and the tented show form part of the weekend.

The Yorkshire Festival opens tomorrow with the National Youth Circuit Race Championships at the Dorothy Hyman Stadium in Wombwell.

On the same day in Selby, the Bob Jackson Team Trial will be held, incorporating the Yorkshire and British Universities Championships.

The following day sees the seniors contest the long-standing East Yorkshire Classic Race, which is a 150km testing course around the Yorkshire Wolds starting and finishing in Beverley.

The grass-track arena in Roundhay Park, Leeds, will then hold an open meeting on Monday.

The following evening, a lung-busting race, has been organised by the Aire Valley Racing Team at Oxenhope, near Keighley, and, on Wednesday, the crowds will flock to the popular Otley Town Centre Races, billed as the National Circuit Race Championships (7pm).

Yorkshire Festival chairman Bob Howden said: "The Festival offers the unique opportunity to bring cyclists together from all disciplines and sectors of the sport.

"Our programme brings riders from around the UK and beyond to some of the country's very best scenery.

"We've also managed to bring the sport into close contact with local communities, taking us into the heart of town centres."

Updated: 10:50 Friday, June 17, 2005