BEFORE he won Olympic goal, before he wore the yellow jersey in the Tour De France, Chris Boardman was star on the roads of South Cumbria.

In 1992, Boardman would catapult himself into the national conscience with victory in the individual pursuit at the Barcelona Games.

But a year earlier he was taking the victory a lot closer to home.

Riding for Manchester Wheelers, the triple national champion took a rare double in the Lakes Road Club Northwest Cycle Sport Easter three-day race.

As well as taking the overall title following four high-paced stages totalling 216 miles in and around Furness, he also won two stages – including the fourth and final outing.

He was followed in the standings by club-mate Alan Girnall – who had claimed stage two – with the host club's John McMinn – a teacher at Walney School at the time and a man who hoped to go on and ride in the Tour of Britain – sixth, and fourth in the final stage sprint.

The race – organised by Fred Whitton, whose name now adorns the famous annual grind through the Lake District Passes – was one of many held in South Cumbria during the 1960s through to the 1990s.

And tomorrow, the lanes around Birkrigg and the Coast Road will be a blur of action again.

Lakes Road Club have assembled a field of 60 riders from across the North West to tackle their Ulverston Summer Road Race.

It is the first time for many years that such a race has taken place in the area – though the professional Tour Series has twice come to Barrow town centre, and the Tour of Britain will host a stage departure there in September.

The Easter three-day race was a staple of the calendar, with Olympic squad rider Mark Gornall a winner of the opening stage in 1989, when he was pipped to the overall title by 20-year-old South Yorkshire bike mechanic Chris Creachan, having seen stages take in roads around Barrow, Leece, Ulverston and the Coast Road, often in high winds.

In 1992, the race was known as the Tour of Furness, when West Yorkshire's Damian Smith took the honours. Boardman was busy preparing for the Olympics and did not return to defend his crown.

Kevin Dawson – who would go on to win multiple national titles in a long career – actually had faster times than Smith overall, but suffered a five-minute penalty for a breach of the rules.

A delve into the Mail's photographic archive revealed many other events – including the popular Dalton Charter road race and the Ulverston Classic Ladies Road Race – with the hope tomorrow's ride can be the start of another series of successful hostings.