DALBY FOREST is feeling the benefits of the London Olympics, two years before the start of the games.

Mountain biking groups are flocking to the forest near Pickering, hoping to follow in the wake of London 2012 hopefuls.

They want to stage events on the new technical course at Dalby after British Cycling arranged for top British mountain cyclists to use it for their training, and helped it win the right to host the opening leg of this year’s UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup in April.

Alan Eves, Yorkshire forest management director for the Forestry Commission, said: “We have already got a lot of people following British Cycling coming to us, asking ‘Can we have an event in Dalby Forest, using the course’s facilities.”

The Forestry Commission, which runs Dalby Forest, now has an agreement nationally in place with British Cycling which makes it easier for such events to be held.

Mr Eves said he hoped the new sporting moves in Dalby Forest would lead to more people using the nation’s woodlands and engaging in more sporting activities in them.

The World Cup success came as part of Yorkshire Forward’s moves to host events and other training opportunities associated with the Olympics.

British Cycling chose to bid for the World Cup to be staged at the forest partly because regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, the centre’s management and others had convinced it of commitments to developing mountain cycling in the region. A spokesman for Dalby Forest said the World Cup will benefit the local economy, showcase North Yorkshire to the world and provide a world-class facility for British athletes to use for training before and after the Olympics.

The forest’s managers are confident next month’s international event on its new track will pave the way for it to host legs in the 2011 and 2012 World Cups, meaning the world’s best cyclists will compete at Dalby immediately before they compete for Olympic gold.

The World Cup bid was made by the Forestry Commission, British Cycling, UK Sport, Welcome to Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward and other organisations.