SIMON Wakely grabbed a third place finish at the final round of the Great Britain Cross Country series held near Leicester.

The result though, put the Dorchester rider in fourth spot overall having missed out on the third round.

The final stage of the series was held at a new venue around stubble fields, fresh woodland and virgin trees. However, the land was saturated with water following recent wet weather. Wakely though, battled through and earned himself third - just three minutes behind the winner Paul Edmondson.

The county town man said: "I started extremely slowly, with a rubbish start and a difficult first two laps trying to readjust to the mud after spending two weeks out in the sunshine in Greece.

"I started to get my head down on the third lap, putting some quick laps in and working my way up into the top five.

"After an hour of the race I had got myself into fourth, and as I came out of refuelling I could see third-placed Ash Greedy.

"I really pushed hard trying to catch him and in two more laps I was right behind him but then I lost a little bit of energy and the distance stayed the same.

"I then had a second wind and caught right up behind Greedy, before making a good decision by going right in a big rutted section where I got into third as Greedy was stuck behind another rider.

"I eventually finished just three minutes behind Paul Edmondson, which I was happy about after such a slow start to the race.

"Fourth overall in the championship is a good result, and the competition has been a really enjoyable series for me, with good racing and good venues.

"I would just like to thank all my sponsors and helpers for all their assistance during the year."

The final round is to be televised on Sky Sports 2 on October 14.