SHAUN Hickinbottom earned himself a shock first win, whilst on holiday from Kidderminster, in the Dorset Cycling League at Moreton’s weekly criterium series after holding the fast-moving bunch for a solo victory in front of team-mate Jamie Jenkins.

The handicap race, which is split into three groups going off at different times to promote exciting racing, came down to a tense final lap of the 2.5 mile circuit where the red group – filled with the quickest riders – were just 40 seconds behind the green group – the slower bunch – however, Hickinbottom along with four other riders, broke away on the final lap and he was able to show his full strength to hold off a rampaging red group to win on the night.

After the race he told Echosport: “We went away, me and Jamie Jenkins and I decided to have a go on the final corner and we managed to stay clear of the red group. It was a great race.

“The red group came through so fast (on their first pass of the greens, two needed for both groups to be on the same lap) and we weren’t sure that we could hold them off, but we managed to do it.

“We managed to keep a solid gap for much of the race and when we went into the final few laps we couldn’t hear the time gaps but we kept up the speed well.”

Earlier on in the evening, Laura Raynor earned herself the victory in the women’s race, where only nine competitors took part.

Claire Parkin from Exeter University took up the running throughout much of the race and looked likeliest to win, but she mistimed her sprint and Rayner stole through perfectly to win by more than four bike lengths.

* If you are interested in taking part in the Dorset Cycling League, visit dorsetleague.com for more information.