A JUNIOR cycling club is being formed in Dorking to cater for all ages from five up to 16.

The call is going out for youngsters who wish to join and for three adults who would like to become coaches.

The new club means that the area will enjoy a cycling legacy after the Olympic games have triggered a surge in interest in the sport thanks to the two cycling road races which will pound their way up Box Hill in late July.

"The thousands who line the roads that weekend for a glimpse of the world's best cyclists will get such inspiration from the explosion of movement, particularly the youngsters, that there needs to be something they can turn to in order to get them pedalling themselves afterwards and Dorking Raiders junior cycle squad will fill that need," says John Leitch, a cyclist from Brockham and the man behind the project.

"We have a four-stage plan: to go into five local schools and offer sessions for a total of 200 children; to offer free training for three new coaches and form a junior club that meets once a fortnight; to run an inter-school competition in the summer term; and to get children from the area cycling up Box Hill in a mass participation event just days ahead of the Olympics themselves."

The Dorking Raiders junior cycle squad project is backed by a £6,400 grant from Sport England and is supported by Mole Valley Council's leisure coordinator Richard Arlett.

As well as funding the cost of coaching courses, the money will be used to buy 13 road bikes which will then be loaned to promising riders.

"The biggest need right now is for individuals who wish to volunteer to help, in any shape of form, but particularly those who fancy the challenge of coaching," says Leitch, who formed Redhill Raiders three years ago.

"We're progressing nicely. We started with a group of four coaches and within the past few months three more have stepped forward – one is herself a keen cyclist while the other two have been inspired by seeing their own children enjoy the sessions on the playground we use in Merstham."

Most of the in-school cycling sessions in Dorking will be run by Tim Sales, th cycling coach who is responsible for Surrey.