GRAHAM Briggs powered his way to his second consecutive win in the British Cycling Elite Circuit Series Championships in Abergavenny on Friday night.

Yorkshireman Briggs, of the JLT Condor team, had ridden to victory from start to finish on Wednesday in the rain at a hilly Chepstow Grand Prix but his victory on the final stage of the Series was far different than his run-away success of midweek.

The victory was anybody’s with one lap to go of the hour and five finishing laps race as some of the Series top contenders attacked but were brought back to the peleton over the 60 minutes.

But Briggs, who had been sat in the bunch for all the race, timed his own attack for glory to perfection and stormed through the finishing line by a couple of bike lengths from the field.

Merseyside’s Jonny McEvoy, who lead the race on a couple of occasions and was well in contention going into the final circuit of Abergavenny, was second while Australian champion Steele Von Hoff, who was aiming to make up for a 16th place in Chepstow with victory in the final leg of the Series on Friday, was third.

And, when he had got his breath back, Briggs, 32 from Doncaster, explained, “When we got to the hairpin on the last lap, I jumped Jonny there and the rest was history. It is where it counts on the last lap and I just timed it right.

"I followed a few moves but my team did a great job as well. It is great to get two wins in a week and it has been a great week in Wales."

The double wins were a boost to Briggs who had an up and down season with illness and new domestic duties. He said, “I won one of my first races in March but after that things did not go right. There was a change in lifestyle with (the birth of) my baby.

"But since July, I have come back with a bang. It is good to finish the series on a high."

Throughout the thrilling race, Newport’s Jon Mould, of One Pro Cycling, looked to celebrate his overall Series victory, which was wrapped up on Wednesday, with victory on home soil as he punched away from the peleton on several occasions but could not make the decisive break from the field.

With a few minutes of the hour left before the five finishing laps, Von Hoff took charge with a group of three chasing him but the Aussie could not hold off the challenges and was soon reeled back to the pack.

McEvoy tried his own bid for glory on the penultimate lap and looked to be heading for the win before Briggs took over and at the right moment.

Briggs’ efforts in Monmouthshire put him third in the overall Series standings from Pedal Heaven Road Team’s David McGowan in second and Mould at the top of the list.