ELDWICK'S Sophie Thackray backed up her win in the final round of the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross Series in Derby on the first weekend of the new year.

The Paul Milnes Cycles-Bradford Olympic RC rider lifted the girls' under-16 title at the National Championships in Abergavenny.

In fact, Thackray had enough energy to do an extra victory lap as she was the only female not lapped by boys' winner Dan Tulett.

She made her move on the second lap, taking the lead from Emily Wadsworth (Beeline Bicycles RT), and ended up with the whole finishing straight between her and the fight for the other podium places.

Otley's Tom Pidcock, in only his fifth cyclo-cross race, also picked up a medal.

The Chevin Cycles.com Trek rider finished second in the under-16 boys' race, Tulett (Specialized Racing) finishing 1min 27sec ahead.

Pidcock, 15, was in second, with Harry Yates (Hargroves Cycles-Ridley RT) on his wheel, and Harry Hardcastle (Kirklees Cycling Academy), Tom Mein (Derwentside CC) and Cameron Orr (Sherwood Pines Cycles SRAM RT) chasing hard in pursuit.

Tulett increased his lead every lap but Pidcock seized his chance on the penultimate lap and attacked.

Yates got the better of Hardcastle and Orr to finish third 21 seconds behind Pidcock, while Wibsey's Euan Cameron (East Bradford Cycling Club) was 11th.

Thackray may have completed a double of sorts but there was no Trophy-national double for either clubmate Alfie Moses or Cononley veteran Ian Taylor.

However, although Taylor was the runner-up behind Nick Craig in the men's 40-49 years' race, he had the consolation of winning the 40-44 years' sub-division.

Tom Craig (Pioneer-Scott Synchros) retained his title in the junior men's race but did not have an easy ride after Josh Waters (Sherwood Pines Cycles) took the field by surprise with his fast start.

Keighley rider Moses soon bridged the gap, with David Barnes (Team Corley Cycles) close behind and Craig a little further back.

Waters ran out of steam and Craig entered the finishing straight in front on the third lap, with Moses glued to his wheel.

Craig ultimately proved too strong for Moses, increasing his lead on the final laps, and Moses had to settle for silver, with Mark McGuire (Mountain Trax RT) third.

"That wasn't an easy race. I had a gap after a couple of laps but Alfie didn't give up chasing me down," said Craig, whose dad Nick (Pioneer-Scott Synchros) rode superbly to deny Taylor.

These two, plus Darren Atkins (Ride Coventry), made an early break and Taylor and Atkins had a small gap on Craig at the end of the first lap.

However, Taylor and Craig then managed to distance themselves from Atkins, who was recovering from a flu bug, while Haworth's Andy Peace (Jedi Cycle Sport) was in a chasing group vying for fifth and eventually finished eighth.

By the midway point, Taylor and Craig were playing cat and mouse at the front,but Craig made the decisive move on the short climb after the pits.

Taylor said: "I knew I had to keep it hard all race but it took it out of me. However, I've done a lot better than I thought I would. I came down with a cold after Derby and I've struggled to clear it up."

Shipley's Chris Young (Pedalsport CC) made it a trio of second places with a runners-up berth in the men's over-50s race – but

Young said of his battle with winner Tim Gould: "I was a bit disappointed after I beat him last week.

"I had a good week training and I've done everything right but he just had a bit more power than me on some sections."

East Morton's Annie Simpson (Hope Factory Racing) was eighth in the women's race, while Bingley's Marie Jackson (Paul Milnes Cycles-Bradford Olympic RC) was third in the women's veterans' race.

Bingley's Rob Jebb (Hope Factory Racing) was ninth in the men's event and Birkenshaw's Billy Harding (Orange Monkey Pro Team) eighth in the men's under-23s. Finlay Cooper-Oldroyd (Paul Milnes Cycles-Bradford Olympic RC) was seventh in the under-14 boys.