Oldham maintains National Trophy lead after round two

Paul Oldham extended his lead in the National Trophy Series when he was best-placed British rider in the second round staged in Leicestershire on Sunday.

The Hope Factory Racing rider from Colne in Lancashire finished second to Belgian Jelie Brakman (Van Der Vuurst CT) in the event at Leicester Leys Leisure Centre, and with last year's series winner and arch rival Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles) finishing third, Oldham now has an eight point lead in the overall standings.

After a flurry of early attacks, Oldham and Brakman hit the front and pulled out a good lead on the chasing pack.

Oldham appeared to be doing a lot of the work while his rival sat and waited. His chance came when Oldham fell twice in quick succession, dislodging his chain in the second fall.

The Belgian needed no further warning and attacked, heading for a solo victory by 40 seconds, while Oldham just managed to gather himself enough to stave off Crawforth, who was just 10 seconds behind him at the line.

In other categories, Luke Gray (Babco CT) was best British Under-23 rider in seventh overall, although just behind him in eighth spot was Hargroves Cycles' Steve James who retains the overall by seven points from Gray.

Fourth overall was another Belgian rider, Kenny Geluykens, and he warmed up for the event by riding to victory in the SRAM Notts and Derby League on Saturday.

He made light work of the new course at Rosliston Forestry Park near Burton on Trent, crossing the line almost two minutes clear of his nearest rival, Ashfield Road Club's Andy Naylor.

Paul Bethell led a 1-2-3 for Team Elite in the seventh round of the North West League at Otterspool Park in Liverpool on Saturday.

He edged ahead of team-mate Giles Drake at the end of the race, while Roy Davies completed the podium.

In the Mosquito Bikes London League, Corley Cycles were celebrating a one-two at Hillingdon.

Nick Jones led the way, while team-mate Michael Smith was just behind in second and London Phoenix rider Matt Webber was third.

Elsewhere, Tim Guy was celebrating his first Eastern League victory on Sunday, the Iceno Velo rider from Norwich finishing 15 seconds ahead of PCA Ciclos Uno rival James Whatling.

And in the fifth round of the Wessex League in Oxford, Wheelbase rider Michael Cotty took the win comfortable by 1:38 from Beeline Cycles' Ben Sumner.