Joanna Rowsell hopes Tour de France will encourage more to get on their bikes this summer

Joanna rides the 1km of the Tour de France route that passes into the borough on Sunday

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Gold medal Olympic winning and world champion cyclist Joanna Rowsell MBE was in Rochdale this week ahead of the Tour de France which comes to the borough on Sunday.

Thousands are expected to line the route on Sunday 6 July when around a kilometre of the world’s largest annual sporting event passes into Littleborough – adjacent to Blackstone Edge Reservoir during Stage 2 from York to Sheffield.

The 25-year-old world record holder, who has lived in Middleton for the last four years, took time out of her intense schedule to promote the benefits of cycling to pupils at Spotland Primary School. She talked about how she started cycling at 16 and what it felt like to win an Olympic medal, before taking questions from the children.

Joanna  said: “There are lots of great places to ride around here and it’s fantastic that the Tour de France is coming to our borough; I’m certainly looking forward to going up to Blackstone Edge to watch on Sunday. The thing with cycling is it offers such a massive variety. You don't have to have a specialist bike or specialist equipment to go out cycling. I hope this will encourage more people to give it a go.”

After chatting to the enthusiastic youngsters and posing for photographs she took the short trip to Littleborough. After a quick stop at the White House Pub to see how their last minute preparations are going she got on her bike to sample just what it will be like for the Tour de France riders this weekend, by riding the kilometre of the route that comes into the borough. Recognised as one of the most fascinating sections of the route it’s the culmination of the longest continuous hill climb in England, up from Cragg Vale.

“Since moving to the area four years ago I’ve discovered the stunning scenery the borough has to offer, this is a beautiful part of the world and perfect for exploring on two wheels. I love cycling up Cragg Vale and the views as you ride alongside the reservoir are breathtaking, it’s beautiful, so let’s hope we get sunshine on Sunday when the world's media will be watching this small but very important corner of the borough,” added Joanna.

After a visit to see how the preparations are going for the big day in Littleborough it was off to the Pioneers Museum in Rochdale, to take a look at a special exhibition being staged there, featuring a range of cycles from delivery bikes to the latest road bikes used by today’s professional cyclists plus the skinsuit worn by Bradley Wiggins in 2004 as the World Individual Pursuit Champion. At the front of the museum is an eye catching ‘ReCycle Sculpture,’ designed and built by members of Sparth Community Centre and the council’s Youth Service.