With Gary Wearmouth assured of the title, veteran Pete Wilkin led the chase for late points when Velo Club 167 staged the penultimate round of the North East cyclo-cross league on a course at Mowden Park in Darlington.
The Cleveland Wheelers rider, who shared the lead with former champion Alan Nixon for the first four laps, went on to finish with two minutes to spare at the end of the nine-lap, 12-mile course.
The promoting club's own rider Andy Oliver, riding his first cyclo-cross event of the season, led the initial charge but had to settle for third place, a further 49 seconds off the pace.
Fourth-placed Paul Cook (Derwentside CC) collected the veterans' prize with Teesdale CRC's Andy Cosgrove finishing fifth overall ahead of Ian Kipling (MTS Cycle Sport).
Cestria CC's Darren Tiffen, having a good workout for the national schools' championship at Birmingham next weekend, won the separate youth category event.
Tiffen, youth race winner in round four of the National Trophy series at Mallory Park in November, repeated his victory at Meadowfield Sports Centre a week earlier over Jamie Sharp (Middlestone Shipmates).
Darlington's Keith Murray, the North of England champion, made a late bid for the Yorkshire CCA points title when he contested the sixth and final round at Temple Newsam Park, Leeds.
Murray, riding for the Science in Sport.com team, had a ride in hand over leader and defending champion Chris Young, and would have needed to finish first or second in the Jonathan Noble Memorial race to swing the final outcome, with riders counting their best five results.
On the day, however, Young and Murray had to settle for seventh and eighth positions, with Young thus retaining his title and Murray finishing second overall.
Victory went to Shaun Snodden, last season's British under-23 champion who was completing his preparations for next weekend's national championship meeting in Birmingham.
Snodden, from Chesterfield, followed up his win on the Darley Moor circuit near Ashbourne the previous day when he led virtually from the gun in the Seacroft Wheelers event
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article