WEYMOUTH cycling ace Ben Davis took his first win of the season for Bristol Road Club at the Cheltenham and County Road Race in the Cotswold League.

Davis, 25, managed to time his effort to perfection in jumping away from a breakaway group approximately five miles from the finish before riding solo to win by 15 seconds.

Based around Colne Saddlery, near Bourton-on-the-Water, the 58-mile race featured a circuit with one notable climb in an otherwise hilly parcours.

Davis told Echosport he had worked out the best place to launch an attack while ascending the first climb.

He said: “It was a 10-mile circuit around. There was a five-minute climb then a descent, after that it was lumpy.

“I thought going into it just before the descent would be a good place to attack because there was a tailwind.

“On the second lap someone really drilled it and (the peloton) split. There were 20 people in the break, so quite a lot.

“On the last lap just before the descent I went away with a couple of others. I jumped them, got rid of them and rode the last five miles of the descent solo.”

Bristol-based accountant Davis admitted he thought a top-five finish might have been possible given the quality of the peloton at the event.

“If it came down to a sprint the finish was just after the hill and I thought I could probably make the top five, there were some good riders there,” he said.

After moving back to the south west from northern England, Davis is relishing being able to race for Bristol once more.

“It’s my first win this year and it seems to be going alright. I’m just getting back into it really because I moved up north for a couple of years.

“It’s a big adrenalin hit and being back down here it’s a lot more of a social aspect to it,” he said.

Commenting on his plans for the rest of the season, Davis is targeting more local races and revealed he may attempt the Divisional Championships in August, where the strongest local riders are expected to compete.

“I’m thinking of doing the Divisional Championships, it’s the next one down from the Nationals.

“Only people from the south west can enter so there are big names on the list.

“That weekend everyone goes to the Divs from their teams and tries to win the (regional) title,” he said.