Sean Yates came within 30 seconds of winning a national medal in the British 50-mile championship on the borders of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

Yates, who found fame on the roads of the Tour de France a decade ago, finished fourth fasted in 1hr.51min.8sec. racing for team Clean Impsport.

The veteran all-rounder won the title when the race was held at Crawley in 1997 but he was caught and passed by defending champion Michael Hutchinson (Team MDT Giant), who started five minutes behind him.

Hutchinson, who came close to winning the 25-mile championship earlier this month, confirmed his position as the country's top middle distance time trialist by taking 1h.44min.10sec to complete a hat-trick of victories with nearly three minutes in hand over runner-up, Kevin Dawson (Compensation Group RT).

James Dear (In Gear RT), clubmate Jon Sharples and Peter Tadros (InterBike RT) were other Sussex cyclists to beat two hours.

Angela Nainby (East Grinstead CC) the county's only entrant in the women's championship, set 2hr.14min.28sec.

Dear and Sharples will be joined by clubmates Steve Elms and Shane Faulkner to form a formidable team for the Sussex CA Ten-Mile Championship at Fontwell tomorrow.

Double points were at stake in the last of three mid-summer evening races organised by Lewes Wanderers at Laughton.

Lee Oliver (VC Bayeux) made certain of overall victory in this long-running series by beating the promoting club's Ian Glen in a sprint finish which decided this 50 km event.

But Oliver's clubmate, Martin Markowski, who lost his overall lead in the weekly series of Goodwood Gallops a week ago, had to settle for 11th place in a blanket finish won by Matt Starey (Pearson Cycles RT).

Worthing Excelsior's Peter Thorp-Hinks, a consistent performer this season, moved up to third, just ahead of Shaun Read (Eastbourne Rovers Phoenix Cycles) and junior, Liam Terry (Bognor Regis CC).

Mid-Sussex Cyclists, a leisure riding group of enthusiasts from Burgess Hill, sported their recently designed cycling colours in an international randonnes for the first time.

They joined over 250 other riders from this county for the annual Tour of the Three Valleys in Normandy and returned from Dieppe with a trophy awarded for the club with the highest number of participants.

Most of their 25 members completed the 140km route, one of the five distances available for the 448 entrants. But 78-year-old Ted Axford (Brighton CTC) of Portslade, making 20th appearance since five British pioneers rode the first event in 1972, went 30km further to win the cup presented to the oldest of 56 riders on the 170km course.

British 50 mile Championship: 1 M. Hutchinson (Team MDT) 1-44-10; 2 K. Dawson (Compensation Group RT) 1-47-2; 3 M. Bottrill (Race Scene) 1-50-43; 4 S. Yates (Team Clean) 1-51-8; J. Dear (In Gear RT) 1-53-34; P. Tadros (InterBike RT) 1-55-38; J. Sharples (In Gear RT) 1-56-25; D. Pollard (In Gear RT) 2-0-1; S. Woodbridge (G.S. Stella) 2-0-14.

Lewes Wanderers 50km Criterium: 1 L. Oliver (VC Bayeux); 2 I Glen (Lewes Wanderers); 3 M. Elliott (Connect Computers RT).

Final Classification: 1 L. Oliver 38pts; 2 I Glen 27; 3 M. Elliott 14; 4. M. Blann (VC Bayeux) and J. Sharples (Eastbourne Rovers) 12.

Ninth Goodwood Gallop: 1 M. Starey (Pearson Cycles RT); 2 J. Ibbertson (FDM Flanders); 3 P. Thorp-Hinks (Worthing Excelsior).