McMaster will be home to a new national sport training centre, developed to coincide with a world road racing event to be held in Hamilton in 2003.

The federal government will work with a number of partners to create the centre, Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps announced Friday in Hamilton.

The sport training centre will be established after the World Road Cycling Championships are held in the city from Oct. 6 to 12, 2003.

“The creation of a sport training centre at McMaster University will provide Canadian athletes and coaches with a significant opportunity to develop and maximize their potential,” said Copps.

Copps did not say how much the centre will cost.

The world road cycling championships will consist of 10 races during the week-long event and are expected to draw about 450,000 spectators. The event has been held outside Europe only four times since its inception in 1927. Canada hosted the event once before, in Montreal in 1974.