Luke Gray (Hargroves) made an impressive start to his National Trophy campaign by finishing a very close second to Daniel McLay (Leicestershire RC) in the first round at Abergavenny.

The Broadstone rider started his weekend by winning the youth event at Cowley, Oxford on Saturday.

He was in a different class and easily won the warm-up event, gaining valuable ranking points in the process.

The next day on a dry and very fast course at the Welsh town's Leisure Centre, Gray started in pole position in the front row of the grid after his good results the previous year.

From the off, it was Josh Papworth (Halesowen A and CC), McLay and Gray who soon broke clear of the field of 55 riders.

And on the second lap, Gray took the lead on a steep bank to drop Papworth from the leading trio. The lead of the race changed between the pair several times with Gray attacking hard on the steep banks and technical sections, often getting a gap on McLay, only for him to pull it back on the flat.

With the bell ringing signifying the final lap, Gray once again attacked to drop McLay but an unlucky wheel slip on one of the final climbs allowed his rival to sprint past him at the end of the race.

Stuart Bowers (Hargroves/Trant/Scott) continued his successful start to his season with an excellent fifth place in the Elite event.

Bowers also won the warm-up event in Oxford the day before, using the race to test out his two spare machines.

"I was in the lead group from the off and I felt like I was holding my own," said the Charlton Marshall rider.

The race was dominated by Paul Oldham (Hope) who scored his first ever National Trophy race win.

With a super endurance invitation-only race coming up in the USA Bowers' performance also puts him in the frame for a ride in GB colours for the first round of the World Cup in Kalmthout, Belgium.

RIDERS' CALSHOT CALL

It is a case of use it or lose it with the annual Calshot Winter track league this season with the event needing a stronger turnout than it has had in recent years.

The 142.5m indoor wooden track is housed in the Calshot Activity Centre and is useful for anybody wanting to maintain their speed during the winter months.

The events are run under British Cycling regulations and riders can either enter on the day, or they can also pre-enter by completing a standard entry form and sending it to the regional secretary Susan Knight in Portsmouth.