PETE Banham has been rewarded for battling back from a serious injury to be crowned Junior Welsh Mountain Bike Champion.

The Wyre Forest Cycling Club rider was in stunning form in the Welsh MTB Championships at Builth Wells when he took control early on and demolished the opposition.

His performance was so good that his time would have been fast enough for fourth place in the elite race.

Banham missed most of the early season races after suffering a bad knee injury which required surgery, but the gutsy young rider has fought back to fitness in determined fashion.

He recently completed the tough Ras De Cymru five-day stage race, finishing in a very respectable 42nd overall against senior opposition.

Dave Barnes confirmed his fantastic recent form when he was crowned British Cycling National Masters 3km Pursuit Champion with a superb display on the track against the clock.

He shrugged off a thigh strain to post a time of three minutes 50.943 seconds for six laps and 240m of the Gosling Stadium track at Welwyn Garden City to win his 35-39 years age group.

Barnes' time gave him a near two-second winning margin over runner-up Ian Cooper, of Halesowen A & CC, who clocked 3-52-840 and third-placed Philip Hetzel, of Ipswich BC, with 3-55-756.

Wyre Forest riders Simon Alexander and Phil Tranter travelled to the French Alps to ride the gruelling Etape Du Tour event, where riders get to follow in the wheel tracks of the professionals and ride a stage of the Tour de France route.

This year's event was held on the 191km stage from Gap to L'Alpe D'Huez, taking in the monster climb of the Col d'Izoard followed by the Col du Lautaret and finishing at the top of l'Alp D'Heuz.

Alexander was the first of the pair to finish in baking conditions to cross the finish line with a time of seven hours 20 minutes for a superb 407th place from 5,000 starters.

Despite suffering with a broken thumb, Tranter put in a brilliant effort but struggled on the final ascent and climbed off on the 17th bend of the 21 hairpins after the heat and the 100-mile ride finally took its toll.

Joe Rowe, Alex Tinsley, Phil Blacker and Warren King were all in fine form with a powerful display of track racing at the Friday night track league at the Manor Abbey Stadium, Halesowen.

Youth rider Tinsley performed superbly in the A category races despite being only 15 years old.

Results: A Cats 10-lap scratch - 1 Blacker, 2 Tinsley; A cats 1.6km scratch - 2 Blacker, 3 Tinsley, 5 King. B cats 12-lap points race - 2 Rowe; A cats 10-lap accumulater race -1 Tinsley , 3 King; A+B cats Danish pursuit race 1- 1 Rowe; race 2 - 1 Blacker, 2 Tinsley, 6 King.

Paul Prince took first place in the latest round of the season-long club TT competition.

He scorched around the undulating 14-mile Astley circuit to set a new course record time of 32-24, followed by second-placed Bill Moore with 33-38 and Dave Barnes in third place with 33-41.

Other times: Andy Convery 33-51, Chris Morris 34-01, Carl Halpin 35-02, Gary Bartram 35-40, Warren King 35-41, Joe Rowe 36-18, Paul Carson 36-39, John Callaghan 36-55, Peter McUtchen 37-08, George Taylor, 37-35, Alex Tinsley 37-50, Dave Meacham, 38-57, James Smith 39-31, Brian Clarke 40-16, Mike Haddon 40-42, Colin Bexley 41-22, Lorenzo Burratti 41-55, Mike Clackson 42-49, Mick Gray 42-55, Martin Tinsley 43-35, Louise Rotheram 52-58.