FORMER Macclesfield Wheelers rider Ben Elliott took his eighth British cycling title - but admits he had to be more than a little crafty to achieve his goal.
Elliott, aged 28, rode with the Wheelers for 10 years before embarking on a successful career which has seen him takes national titles in grass track, team pursuit and tandem riding.
But to take his first individual title, in the physically demanding 'Keiren' event in London, he had to barge past his own teammates at the end of the race to take the tape.
He told Express Sport: "I'm chuffed to bits, it was quite unexpected. There is a lot of barging going on with eight riders all travelling at 30 miles per hour, and in fact it was my own teammates I had to push out of the way to make room to break away."
"They were fine about it after the race, that's all part of it."
Keiren, which translates from Japanese as 'fight' is one of the most physically demanding cycling races which involves eight riders following a motorbike for three-and-a-half laps, which are paced progressively faster. The riders then contest the race over the last one-and-a-half laps.
After starting riding with the Macc Wheelers in 1989, Ben left the team in 1999, but his mum still times for the club.
Elliott, who now rides for a Portsmouth-based club, said he has been close to qualifying for the Olympic Games in the past, but thinks he will concentrate on the national competitions for now.
He said: "A couple of years ago I was missing the Olympic qualifying times by a couple of tenths of a second. The guys who were making the times went on to win Olympic medals, it's that close."
"The idea is now to pick off national titles and snipe around the races."
