COLCHESTER Rovers were well represented as the Suffolk Cycle Racing Series of midweek criterium races continued at Ipswich's Trinity Park.

There were 16 youth riders in total including seven from Colchester, with the series reaching the fourth of its five rounds.

The youth race consisted of a mix of under-14 and under-16 riders, with both girls and boys competing together.

The flat course was roughly rectangular, with sharp corners and long straights that made for tough and fast racing, as riders faced repeated sprints out of the successive turns.

The race exploded from the start with a peloton of the stronger riders forming at the front during the first lap, including Oli Partner, Dan Hall, Jake Crossley, Max Avery and Jodie Taylor.

The pace increased over the next few laps, which saw the bunch break up into smaller groups.

The lead group was reduced to around six riders and with three laps to go, was lit up by Crowley, Partner and Ryan Gooderham (TPH Racing) pulling away from the others.

This trio worked successfully together to the line with Partner (under-16) beating Crossley (under-14) to the line by a reasonable margin from the final corner with Gooderham (under-16) third.

This was Partner's first win at Trinity after two second places, with Crossley taking a second consecutive win in the under-14 category.

Team Terminator's Jodie Taylor won the under-14 girls' category by a clear minute and half from her nearest rival but also finished in sixth place overall.

Zoe Swainston couldn’t quite maintain the pace of her rivals but looked poised and confident on her bike, to finish third in her category.

Ollie Davey-Smith had difficulty clipping in at the start, while Dan Hall having to stop a couple of times to deal with a loose front wheel.

Rovers racing newcomer Max Avery performed extremely well and showed his real keenness for the sport.

In the fourth category race, Rovers had Robert Ferguson and Dan Hall’s dad Peter competing along with Scott Campbell and Neil Hughes of Velo Schils and VC Revolution's Ian Pearson.

The race started at a relatively moderate pace which gradually picked up over the next few laps, with Ferguson well placed in the the front group of 15 or so riders.

The pace then stayed hot to the end of the 40-minute race, with positions changing all the time.

Ferguson had a dig on a number of occasions and eventually finished seventh.

Peter Hall was 17th while the other Colchester-based riders fared well, with Campbell picking up a good second place ahead of Hughes (eighth) and Pearson (12th).

As the series heads towards its final week, Oli Partner tops the boys' under-16 series standings while Jake Crossley sits in second in the under-14s.

Jodie Taylor and Zoe Swainston are first and second amongst the under-14 girls.