OLYMPIC star Bradley Wiggins and leading Tour de France riders will be heading to East Lancashire to race in the shadow of Pendle Hill, the Lancashire Telegraph can reveal.

British Cycling bosses have awarded the 2010 national men’s and women’s road racing championships to Pendle, giving Colne rider Steven Burke the chance for glory in front of his supporters.

Cycling officials have been impressed by the success of the Colne Grand Prix and Tour of Pendle road races in recent years, and the recent Tour of Blackburn event.

The race takes place just a week before the Tour de France and will feature some of the sports biggest names, including Wiggins, Burke, Nicole Cooke and Mark Cavendish.

Scheduled for June 27, the event is also set to feature the debut of Team Sky, a multi-million pound outfit designed to produce a Tour de France winner within five years.

Another Olympic gold medallist, Geraint Thomas, will feature, alongside Tour of Ireland winner Russell Downing, as part of a 200-strong field.

The event is a coup for Brian Cookson, who as well as being Pendle council’s regeneration director is also president of British Cycling, the sport’s UK governing body.

Mr Cookson said in a report to councillors that the event provided a “unique opportunity” to showcase the borough.

Seven-and-a-half miles of road will be closed off for the race, starting in Barley on a circular course through Roughlee and returning along Barley New Road.

Council committees in Pendle, including the Western Parishes meeting hosting the race, are being asked to support the staging costs.