Culverwell and Roe in top form ahead of Nationals

He registered another class victory when he and James Roe travelled to the penultimate round of the Southern Cross Country Mountain Bike Series at Matterly Basin near Winchester to fine tune their form a week before the Nationals, which are being held on a course Roe has fond memories of from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow two years ago.

Culverwell was the pre-race favourite in the youth category having won all four rounds he had competed in this year. Competing over three laps of the 6km course in wet conditions, Culverwell slipped a pedal off the start and was left with work to do.

His strength shone through, though, and when the riders emerged after the first half a lap he already held a sizeable advantage from second-placed Thomas Timberlake.

As the race developed, he did not ease the pressure, increasing his lead to just over five minutes to take the win in a time of 46min. 56sec.

The performance bodes well for the Nationals where Culverwell will be No. 1 on the grid as he fights the country's top youth riders for the premier award in British cross-country mountain biking.

By the afternoon, the sun had come out for the elite race in which Roe would need to complete six laps of the same 6km course. He eventually claimed a fine second place after a long battle at the head of the field.

'I think it's my best performance this year and the closest I have come to winning one of these,' Roe said.

• More in Thursday’s Guernsey Press.