Rider-manager Keith Murray, from Darlington, oversaw a victory for the Steve Goff Frames RT squad in the North Midlands Cycling Federation's open 25-mile TT.

But was handed an unexpected beating in the individual order as teammate Paul Dotchin, 29, from Northallerton, stole the honours from under his nose.

Dotchin, who was competing in only his second competitive event of the new season, overcame cold, windy conditions to cover a course based in Ranby, in North Nottinghamshire, in 55min 27sec.

It gave him a winning margin of just five seconds over Murray, who had started as the second seed in a full field of 120 riders.

The scratch rider and last man off was the Steve Goff team's former British best all-rounder Ian Cammish, from Cambridgeshire, but he could manage only fifth place behind Manchester's Neil Rothwell and York's Steve Gore Brown.

Mark Lovatt, opening his defence of the BCF Premier Calendar title, was second across the line for the third time this season but gained maximum points in the Romford-Harlow road race.

Judges reversed the placings after Lovatt had been beaten in a tight sprint by Julian Winn, the Welsh champion.

The pair had escaped together in the last three miles of the 93-mile race, and officials ruled that Winn had unfairly impeded Lovatt by deviating from his line when they were 50 metres from the finish line.

Lovatt, who was forced into the gutter, said: "I had to brake hard to avoid crashing into him, and you can't expect to win a sprint if you have to brake.''

Winn's fellow Welshman Anthony Malarczyk, himself the winner of the Five Valleys road race in South Wales which was a Premier Calendar qualifier last year, claimed third place, 28 seconds back, from Kevin Dawson, the former British time trial best all-rounder who had beaten Lovatt in two previous early-season outings.

John Tanner, the British open road race champion from Doncaster, was placed sixth.

Winn had been at the head of the race almost from the start, getting in an early five-man break which, as other riders bridged the gap, grew to 29-strong.

Lovatt, Winn, Malarczyk, Dawson and Matt Bottrill escaped from this group after 50 miles and were together until Winn attacked with three miles to go.

Tanner, meanwhile, had come up from the main bunch and was in a small chasing group which almost caught Malarczyk, Dawson and Bottrill on the line.

Against the clock, Michael Hutchinson, the current British best all-rounder, scored his first success of the RTTC circuit time trial series when he won San Fairy Ann CC's event over a sporting 24.5-mile course in Kent.

Hutchinson, who was the overall series winner in 1999, was completing a weekend double after taking the Sotonia CC ten-mile event at Andover on Saturday.