Top Keighley road racer Tom Barras took a solid seventh spot in his first competitive outing of the year after tussling wi th some of the country’s best riders.

Now one of the most senior riders in the new Team Raleigh outfit, Barras was just pipped for sixth place in a thrilling bunch sprint for the line.

This saw Rapha Condor-Sharp rival Dean Downing from Rotherham crossing the line just inches ahead.

Barras was Team Raleigh’s best finisher in the competitive 90-kilometre event and it bodes well for this weekend when he is in action twice in two days.

Saturday sees Team Raleigh field a ten-rider squad for the Eddie Soens Memorial Road Race, which covers a 50-mile course around Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool.

Barras will be aiming for another good result and will obviously be targeting a first victory for Team Raleigh, who have signed up some top riders for 2010.

Following the trip to Merseyside, Barras will travel with most of his team-mates to the first round of the CDNW Road Race League at Elswick in Lancashire, where many of the top riders will again line up for a 56-mile epic on Sunday morning.

With just 60 riders in the field, Team Raleigh have been given seven places (which includes Barras), with one rider on the reserve list.