THOUSANDS of miniature cycling jerseys will adorn Ripon after residents knitted up a storm to celebrate the UCI Road World Championships heading to North Yorkshire.

September will see the county host cycling’s equivalent of the World Cup and two knitters from Ripon have inspired the creation of nearly 3,000 tiny jerseys as a colourful welcome for the riders.

Carol Dunkley and Hazel Barker first began knitting the bunting in October last year, shortly after Carol’s son, cycling enthusiast Neil Dunkley, spoke to them about planning celebrations for the race.

Mr Dunkley Neil owns Moonglu cycle shop in Ripon and Mrs Dunkley explained: “Neil told me the cycling championships were coming to Ripon and showed me a picture of the jerseys. Within hours I’d knitted my first string of jersey bunting.

“We put a picture on his website and it went viral. We had people from all over the country asking for the pattern so Neil put that on the website as well.”

The races take place between September 22 and 29 and will finish in Harrogate, with starting points including Ripon, Northallerton and Richmond.