LLOYD Chapman continued his impressive season on the bike with a top five finish in the national time trial championships.

The Richardson’s Trek rider from Hullbridge rode a fantastic race around Lincoln’s Cadwell Park’s 44km circuit to record a time of 1h 5m 43.02s last weekend, a time that saw him leading until the final four riders took to the tarmac.

But Chapman was “over the moon” with his fifth-place finish, which follows up wins in the Eastern Region Championship Road Race and the Chilham Summer Road Race, in Kent, earlier this year.

And he is now targeting more success, while hoping his performance in Lincoln caught the eye of some of the professional British teams.

“It was a great result for me,” said the 25-year-old. “The team as a whole didn’t have the best of weekends but I have to be pleased with my time-trial. I was focused on putting in a good performance as I didn’t race last year as we were concentrating on the road race but I did both this year.

“The circuit was quite a sporting one and undulated quite a lot but we did a recon before and I felt I knew it well enough to perform well. Technically I could have handled a few of the corners a bit better but I am quite critical of myself.

“But I left everything on the road and that is what you have to do. I couldn’t believe it when the announcement said I was in first and I held onto it for quite a while too.

“I was worried I wouldn’t even be able to start the race at one point as I had a problem with my rear gear change and I was panicking but we got it sorted in the end.”

Maldon’s Alex Dowestt won the time-trial, although there were a number of other admirable performances from Leigh’s Richardson’s Trek riders.

Rhys Howells came in 14th (1h 7m 25.89s) while, in the under-23 race, Canvey’s George Wood came in 19th (50m 13.31s) and Tilbury’s Simon Alexander 28th (50m 55.72s) on the 33.6km circuit.

The road-race was not as successful, with Wood and Jamie Caldwell involved in a crash and Chapman, Howells and Luke Ryan forced to withdraw after failing to keep pace with the leaders.

Chapman is now eyeing up a good showing in the Elite Circuit Series, which races in Stafford and Leicester in the next fortnight, and he admits the schedule is a gruelling one.

“It is hard,” he said. “We all have full-time jobs so juggling that and cycling is difficult. I would love to join a big domestic team and hopefully my performances are being recognised.”