WORCESTERSHIRE mountain bike ace Helen Mortimer will be taking her skills indoors this weekend.

The 24-year-old from Worcester, one of the top-ranked racers in the country, will be one of a host of top riders competing on a specially-designed indoor course at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

It's all part of The Bike Show, a three-day event which starts tomorrow and is expected to attract over 40,000 people.

With all the country's top competitors and some from as far afield as the United States taking part, the event should be an ideal showcase for one of the world's fastest-growing sports.

Mortimer, part of the leading Giant Bikes Toyota team, said: "It is an opportunity for the public to come and meet the riders and find out more about the sport."

Getting some proper action will come as a big relief to Helen, with her training having been badly hit by the foot and mouth crisis.

Because of its outdoor nature, mountain bikers have been hit hard by restrictions due to the disease, with Helen admitting: "This is the only race available to riders until the end of May.

"The national series was due to start two weeks ago and all the meetings have been postponed. You can't ride anywhere in the country at the moment and a lot of people are going over to Europe to do their training and do series in places like France and Spain.

"What they are doing is shuffling races further towards the end of the year."

Helen, aged 24, has progressed very quickly through the sport since taking it up eight years ago. She is currently the top-ranked British female in the downhill and dual events, having won the national downhill title in 1999, and is ranked seventh in the world.

Her targets this year include the national series and national championships, at Ludlow in July, World Cup series which starts in June and then the World Championships in September in Vail, Colorado.

"I did really well last year and was the only British female to get in the top five in the world.

"The feeling is good, so hopefully if I can keep my training up - I have been doing a lot of training on the road and in the gym - I can do well again."