HIGH Wycombe cyclist Martin Freeman heads off to Manchester's Velodrome for the national track championships tomorrow in fine fettle.

He produced one of his best performances of the season last Sunday when he sprinted to second place to win the silver medal in the West Thames Division Circuit Championship.

The 40-mile race was held on the one-mile purpose-built cycle racing circuit at Hayes and it was clear from the outset that a special performance would be needed to get among the medals.

From the start, the race was very fast with many attacks as various riders tried to get clear of the field, only to be pegged back.

Then, with 15 miles to go, Toby Gibbs of Team Quest went clear and opened up a commanding lead which he held to take the championship.

With him gone, the race was on for second place. With five miles left, Freeman made his move alongside Twickenham's Lee Day and they soon gained a 15-second lead over the bunch.

They worked well together until the last half lap when they both sprinted for the line, but it was Martin's superior power and technique that earned him a well-deserved silver medal.

It followed a good night's racing at Palmer Park's Reading track on Thursday, when he won the ten-lap points race, the endurance race and also came second in the sprint.

Elsewhere, Ian Welch took a superb third place from a field of 120 riders in Saturday's Reading CC 25 mile time trial held over the A4 at Woolhampton/Thatcham.

Despite the windy conditions, he clocked 55min, 25sec. Clubmate Colin Fury was seventh after slicing almost two minutes from his previous best time. Frank Pressling was the third scoring-member of the team and his 59min 39sec ensured Wycombe took second spot in the team competition.