ENDUROCROSS, a brand new form of off-road bike racing, comes to Rossendale this weekend.

Organisers Ride-XC have constructed an endurocross circuit at the popular Back Cowm quarry leisure facility at Whitworth in preparation for Sunday’s event – the first to be run outdoors in the UK.

“The idea behind endurocross is to have a short, man-made circuit consisting of all types of obstacles,” explained a spokesman for Ride-XC.

“These can be made up of log sections, tyre sections, rock gardens and the odd shipping container whilst this may sound daunting for some riders, the idea behind the event is to keep the course sensible, safe and fun.”

The format consists of a practice and time qualifying period in the morning followed by three heats for each rider, and a trophy presentation.