Huddersfield rider Amira Mellor was pipped for victory in the penultimate round of the British Cycling National Trophy series held in Peel Park in Bradford.
Mellor, who still leads the Elite Women’s series and retains the yellow jersey going into the final round, finished second after a hard fought race-long battle to Evie Richards, of Malvern Cycle Sport.
Richards, riding in her first National Trophy event, beat Mellor to the line by just seven seconds after a strong ride on the tarmac finishing straight.
The race began with Diane Lee (Team Mulebar Girl) opening up as leader, but as the contest settled down it was clear that the winner would be either Mellor or Richards as the two riders exchanged the lead throughout.
With three laps to go, Richards looked to struggle on an off-camber section but trecovered and started to close in on Mellor.
Mellor had a 20-second lead on Richards with a lap to go and after theymade the final climb together and it came down to a sprint finish with Richards just having more in the tank.
Mellor will look to come back fighting and is looking forward to riding for Great Britain this weekend in the World Cup series meeting in Namur, Belgium.
