IT may not have been the most eagerly awaited stage of the Tour de France but the inaugural Colne Grand Prix sure got the people of East Lancashire excited.

As Lance Armstrong and co were been cheered on by an estimated one million supporters on the L'Alpe d'Huez mountain stage, the more gentle slopes of Colne town centre were becoming silent in anticipation of its own event.

The streets may have been cordoned off but that did not stop the public turning out in their thousands to cheer on the cyclists in the showpiece event of the East Lancs Bike Fest.

By 7.30pm yesterday 3,000 people lined the streets of the 800m course to cheer on people the majority had probably not heard of before.

Luckily for the more uninitiated, the race commentator gave the crowd an insight to the fast and furious pace of street racing.

After a couple of opening laps the pace began to hot up with the cyclists reaching speeds of 40mph. This turned out to be too hot for the majority of the 63-strong field.

However, this could have been because they were racing against two Olympic medallists in Bradley Wiggins and Chris Newton.

These were soon joined by brothers Russell and Dean Downing, with the quartet battling it out for about 55 laps of the 60-lap race.

Despite it almost been a procession at times, the supporters were not perturbed and continued to cheer the competitors on to the finish line.

Mark Blake, 35, of Blackburn Road, Accrington, came to the event with his friend Jamie Gill of Preston New Road Blackburn.

The pair said they enjoyed cycling for fun so came to see what a real race was like.

Mark said: "We go cycling a couple of times a week but just for exercise. We have been watching the Tour de France on television so when we heard about this we thought we would come and see what it was like."

Jamie added: "It is a lot faster than I expected. They just come round and before you know they have gone past."

As the race progressed, the gap between the four and the pelaton, or the leading pack as the commentator told the crowd, became more stretched. Organisers judged the final five laps should be contested between them.

And this made for an exciting finish as Russell Downing just out-sprinted Bradley Wiggins to the finishing line.

After the race Russell said he was pleased with the result, especially against the opposition, and was surprised at the circuit.

He said: "I feel good now I have won. I was surprised at the circuit, it was flowing and the rises let the gaps open up and that how I got away.

"I am very pleased to be here and I think I will have to come back again next year."

Event director Mark Sandamas indicated Russell would be able to come back and defend his crown.

He said: "It has been fantastic and it has really caught the imagination of the public.

"From the number of people we have attracted tonight we definitely want to run it again next year."

The East Lancs Bike Fest continues on Saturday with a cycling display, featuring stunt displays and different types of bikes such as Penny Farthings, being held in Victoria Park, Nelson.