A CYCLE club is hoping to speed past its £10,000 charity fundraising target as it hosts one of the biggest time trial events in Europe.

A total of 80 teams of cyclists have signed up to battle it out for top spot in the Bicester Millennium Cycle Club Silverstone '9 up time trial'.

The club hosts the event each year and hopes this year will beat its last fundraising total of £10,000.

Club member Elaine Plant said: "BMCC are holding the largest cycling time trial event in Europe at Silverstone Race Track in Northamptonshire.

"We are booked up with teams of nine and there is mens, ladies and mixed teams, and for the very first time we have a BMCC junior team entered as well.

"We will line up in the pits and then be set off at minute intervals, out on the track it is a 10 mile timed event and the winners will all go up on the Silverstone F1 winners podium at around 9pm.

"We all watch them up there and it is just a really great atmosphere for the event."

Cyclists can pull up and sign in from 5pm and have access to the track from 6pm for warm ups.

Then the race track will be cleared by 6.40pm for the hand cycling event to begin around 6.45pm and the 80 teams set off from the pit lane from 7pm.

All the proceeds from the timed event go to charity and this year the Bicester-based cycling club has chosen three local charities.

These include Thames Valley Air Ambulance, who will be there on the day, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Children With Brain Tumours charity and Hand Cycling UK which supports disability cycling across the UK.

Cyclist will take to the Silverstone Race Track on Friday, June 10.

Ms Elaine Plant added: "Last year we raised £10,000 for charity and hopefully this year it will be more as we have a few more teams signed up."