CYCLING stars got on their bikes in Bolton today to compete in one of the premier races in the country.

Stage Two of the 1997 Four Day Tour of Lancashire Cycle Race started this morning in Victoria Square.

More than 100 of the country's top cyclists were taking part in the 70-mile race due to finish with 15 laps of a circuit near Birch in Rochdale.

But before the senior race began, Bolton youngsters lined up to compete in the Ambrosia Challenge.

Boys and girls, aged 11 and 12 years, negotiated a slalom course of giant Ambrosia Rice tins in Victoria Square, competing on a knock-out basis. The winner was Steven Blower, aged 12, of Farnworth.

Stage five of the senior race is due to return to Bolton on Bank Holiday Monday, when as part of a 80 mile loop around Greater Manchester, the cyclists will pass through Westhoughton, Moss Bank Park, Bradshaw Road and the Turton Moor Climbs.

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