Ghana's National Cycling Championships are set to serve as a warm-up for the Accra 2023 African Games ©Getty Images

The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) hopes the National Cycling Championships in the city of Ho can serve as another opportunity for its athletes to prepare for their home African Games in Accra next year.

Road races are due to be held over 180 kilometres for the elite and under-23 men, 100km for the elite women, 120km for the junior men and 60km for the junior women on Saturday (June 24) and Sunday (June 25).

Ghana did not have a participating athlete in cycling at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but had nine competitors in the sport's disciplines at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and there are hopes it could medal in the sport at the delayed African Games.

The National Cycling Championships are set to offer a further preparation opportunity for athletes in the build-up to the Cycling World Championships in Glasgow in August and Accra 2023, which has been postponed until March 8 to 23 next year because of delays to preparations and an economic crisis.

Ghana is due to host the African Games for the first time next year ©Getty Images
Ghana is due to host the African Games for the first time next year ©Getty Images

Ghana held the African Road Cycling and Paracycling Championships in Accra earlier this year.

Cycling is one of 24 medal sports on the programme for Accra 2023.

More than 5,000 athletes from over 50 countries are expected to compete at Accra 2023, which has retained its original branding despite the delay until next year.

Former President John Mahama has led calls for Ghana to pull out of staging the Games, but organisers have insisted hosting the multi-sport event remains worthwhile.