A CYCLIST from Burnley is hoping to become a mountain bike world champion.

Helen Gaskell, 23, of the Harle Syke area, has been chosen to represent Great Britain at the UCI Mountain Bike and Trial World Championships at Fort William in September.

Helen, a three-time former junior world champion, rides for Halfords' Team Bikehut and, as part of Team GB, will be racing alongside 700 competitors from 50 nations across the globe.

Helen, who races profess-ionally is now ranked fifth in the world, attended St Hilda's RC High School in Burnley and started biking competitively when she was 11 after going to see a mountain bike race with her friend.

She has been a downhill racer for nine years after competing in cross country races for four years.

The world championships event is the biggest, most important single event in the mountain biking calendar and will see more than 40,000 spectators through the gates over six days of competition.

Covering four mountain biking disciplines - cross country, downhill, 4-Cross and trials - the championships take place between September 3 and September 9.

Helen said: "The world championships are going to be the biggest mountain biking event the UK has seen for a long time and I'm honoured to have been picked as part of the squad.

"I've been training hard and I'm hoping to secure a top three position in the finals, but we will see.

"I'm more excited this race than others I have been in because it is a long time since the championships have been held in Britain.

"The downhill race can only take five minutes but it's a very strenuous five minutes and seems a lot longer when I actually take part in it.

"There is more pressure to perform in front of a British crowd but my friends and family will be there to support me. The track at Fort William is also one of the most challenging of all the tracks in the world and Scotland is notorious for raining which will make it even more difficult.

"If I win the downhill race I will become the world champion and will have the honour of wearing the rainbow jersey for the year.

"I have been on a strict health and fitness regime and have not been drinking alcohol for months now and been training every day."

For information on the championships, visit www.

fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk