Next weekend anyone near downtown Lawrence can see the nation’s best collegiate cyclists zipping up and down Massachusetts Street.

Cycling fans are in for a full weekend of excitement from Friday through Sunday as the 2007 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships return to the area for the third consecutive year with races at the South Lawrence Trafficway, Perry Lake and downtown.

“People from around the country now make the race part of their weekend. Lawrence is their destination,” said Lauren James, the event’s volunteer coordinator.

Event planners are expecting more than 400 cyclists from 95 universities across the country.

With the competitors comes money. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce expects the event to pump $350,000 into the Lawrence economy based on the cyclists, their families and spectators coming and spending money here, James said.

“It’s a great event. You have college-level athletes, who in most of the schools are not funded by their university athletic department,” said Dan Hughes, owner of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, 802 Mass. “So you see a group of kids coming in who love the sport and are here almost on a shoestring.”

The races are a real boon for Lawrence bicycle shops because many competitors often need parts or equipment.

“The small college-town atmosphere, I think, is just kind of perfect for that kind of event,” said Gary Long, owner of Cycle Works, 2121 Kasold Drive.

The three days of cycling will include road closures that will affect traffic in the Lawrence area. From 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday, the team time trial will close the South Lawrence Trafficway from Iowa Street northwest to Sixth Street-U.S. Highway 40.

Cyclists in Saturday’s road race around Perry Lake in Jefferson County will have a “rolling enclosure” around them provided by law enforcement officers, but lake roads will not be closed the entire time.

For Sunday’s event starting at 7 a.m. in downtown Lawrence, Massachusetts Street from Seventh Street to 10th Street will be restricted, including Vermont Street between Seventh and Eighth streets and New Hampshire Street from Eighth Street to 10th Street. No one will be allowed to park along the race route after 2 a.m.

The Kansas University cycling team will be well-represented, including the men’s A-team top cyclist Jason Knight. Kansas State University cyclist Mark Smelser, who grew up in McLouth and is the defending National Criterium champion, also is scheduled to race.

Hughes said Lawrence has proudly served as the event’s host city for three years, although it will move somewhere else next year.

“It’s a chance for Lawrence to showcase itself and not just be a dot on the map of a flyover state,” he said.