YORK racer Paul Watson underlined his position as one of Britain's leading all-rounders with two excellent performances over the August Bank Holiday period.

On Saturday he competed in round six of the RTTC National Circuit TT Series, a 27 mile event promoted by Humberside club Brough Wheelers, based on Warter near Pocklington, where he took a splendid fifth place.

Despite his fourth place in the previous round at Kettering recently, the 22-year old Heworth student was not among the top seeds on the card.

The fancied riders grouped together at the tail-end of the field, separated by two minutes as is the new practice in major events.

With no pressure on him the Knaresborough Racing Team-Cougar Continental rider was free to ride his own race.

Watson set a hot pace from the outset, over the type of Yorkshire terrain that suited the York rider.

At the intermediate time-check after 16 miles he was easily fastest among the first half of the field, but with the big guns still to come.

At the finish line Watson's efforts of 64 minutes 3 seconds was over two minutes quicker than his nearest rival Adam Jordan (Cottingham Coureurs).

It was just a question then of waiting for the arrival of the race favourites.

Several of the top seeds failed to better the York rider's time, including Keith Murray (Steve Goff Frames) who clocked 64.15, just 12 seconds slower.

In the absence of London's Hutchinson (Bio RT), it was Wolverhampton's Stuart Dangerfield (Camel Valley), the national 25 mile champion, who rose to the occasion with a winning ride of 59 min 22 sec to clinch overall victory in the series.

Only three more riders were to better the figures of Watson, they were Kevin Dawson, James Gilfnan and Leicester's Dominic Sweeney.

Uunfortunately due to a mid-season virus suffered by the York rider he missed earlier rounds in the series and was out of the running for a top overall placing.

Just 48 hours later Watson was back in action in Bank Holiday Monday's York Cycleworks road race over several laps of the Sheriff Hutton - Bulmer Bank - Terrington circuit.

Showing no signs of tiredness from his earlier ride, Watson was soon in the thick of the action.

On the second lap of the 11-mile circuit Watson was among a group of seven riders who engineered an early breakaway from the main field, and were never to be seen again by the main field.

Indeed Watson was in good company for eventual winner, Keithley's Chris Young (Team Marie Curie), was there as were Barnsley international Wayne Randle, Sheffield's Glyn Shirley (Rutland CC), Dave Cook (Middridge CRT), the former British amateur road race champion, his team-mate Ian Hellawell, and another Sheffield rider Dave Coulson (J E James Cycles), an impressive group of riders.

Coming up to the finish line Young just had the edge on Randle, with Shirley grabbing third place, while Watson was edged out of fourth place by Coulson, but he was happy enough with his second fifth place of the weekend.

This weekend Watson competes in the TMS Impsort Classic 90 mile road race at Lincoln, the latest round of the BCF National Espoirs (Under 23) Road Race Series.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire's leading evening competitions have seen plenty of action, with riders scrambling to snatch as many points as possible as the number of remaining events quickly diminishes.

The latest round of the Transco Handicap road race league was held over three laps of the Milby circuit near Boroughbridge, a total distance of 27 miles, and it proved to be one of the most exciting races of the series to date.

With one mile remaining before the finish the scratch group, containing many of the regions leading riders, still had not caught the intermediate group that had set off three minutes ahead of them.

A couple of riders from the scratch group, Knaresborough RT elite squad member Paul Bridgen and Thirsk rider Paul Dunn (Hambleton RC), bridged the gap to the front group after a determined chase with around three miles to go, but of the rest it came down to the wire as they made the junction in the final half mile.

In a large and fast big bunch sprint for the line Stuart Burrows (South Elmsall SCC) got there first ahead of Keighley's Steve Peterson (Bronte Wheelers) with Burrows' clubmate veteran Ian Iveson claiming third spot.

Several York riders including Simon Wright, Ian Kent, Stuart Spencer, Terry Kott, Simon Hudson and Jim Laycock, all Knaresborough RT, finished in the main field.