GEORGE Wood matched his performance from last year as he produced a terrific ride to finish in the top 15 riders at the Chorley Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old cyclist from Canvey was the top finisher for Leigh team Richardsons-Trek, as he sprinted to 14th place in horrific conditions in the first Premier Calendar event of the year in Lancashire.

Richardsons-Trek had seven other riders take part in the 115 mile course (Luke Ryan, Dean Shannon, Dante Carpenter, Kieran Brady, Rhys Howells, Simon Alexander and Jez McCann) although it didn’t start well as Shannon came off inside the opening throes of the race.

McCann escaped the peloton over the climb to form part of a three-man chase group behind a two-man lead group, although he couldn’t stay away.

Howells and Wood broke away later in the day before they were reeled in although Howells did get in the decisive break late on as he and his fellows in the breakaway put a 90 second gap between themselves and the pack.

Howells was set for a top 10 finish and his best result to date as he completed the final climb of the day but with five miles to go disaster struck and he suffered a mechanical failure as his crank arm broke.

A quick road side repair saw the following group, containing Wood, race past and although he bridged that gap on returning to the road, he should have finished higher than his 18th place.

Wood rode the final stages with former British road race champion Russell Downing, with Wood crossing the line in 14th.