BROADSTONE-based Luke Gray (Hargroves Cycles) and Mark Chadbourne (ride-bike.co.uk) secured their first mountain bike wins of the year in the youth and veterans races at the fourth round of the Gorrick Series at Deep Cut, Surrey.

With the first round of the national competition only two weeks away, both riders were using the popular Gorrick event as preparation to test both their form and new 2008 team-issue bikes.

In the youth race, Gray pulled away from the field with rival Max Sykes (VC Deal).

Gray took the lead after the first mile of the race and Sykes was happy to follow his lead but Gray soon grew tired of Sykes not working.

"I upped the pace first as I knew there was a hill coming up, then at the foot of the hill I went full bore all the way up and over the top where I shifted up into the big ring and put in a sprint," said the local rider.

Gray went on to win by 39 seconds, adding to his unbeaten record at Firth Hill as well as setting the third fastest lap of the day Former national champion Mark Chadbourne looked good in the slippery conditions, taking the win from another local rider and third round victor Darren Shepherd (Primera).

Chadbourne and Shepherd both enjoyed a good start and soon pulled away from the rest of the field.

At the start of the second lap, Chadbourne tested his rival and once he made a gap he pushed hard for the remainder of the race on board his ultra-rare team-issue Trek Elite 9.9 bicycle.

Chadbourne's team-mate Steve Moors also made it into the top 10, finishing ninth some nine minutes and 35 seconds down.

LLOYD IN SPAIN

DANIEL Lloyd (An Post/Sean Kelly Team) rode to fifth place in the individual time trial opening stage of the five-day Cinturón Ciclista a Mallorca event.

Lloyd finished eight seconds down on stage winner Jörg Lehmann (Team Ista) and is looking for a good overall position in the Spanish event that concludes on Sunday.

Lloyd also placed well at the weekend with a highly creditable 41st place in the De Brabantse

A FIRST FOR PHIL

PHIL Evans (Bournemouth Jubilee) took his first ever podium placing in CC Weymouth's 22-mile event held at Bovington.

Third-placed Evans recorded 1:05:09 for the event that was won by Weymouth's John Chap-man. Gary Steadman (Poole Wheelers, 1:01:13) was second.

COURSE CHANGE

THE Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers' 14m/28m event on Saturday has now been changed to the revised 10.1m course due to roadworks. The start is at Higher Row at 3pm with all riders, regardless of club membership, welcome.