BOLTON road racer Craig Battersby is basking in the glory of his most successful season – at the age of 37.

The amateur has enjoyed two open race wins, along with five top-five finishes in major races in which he has rubbed shoulders with such cycling luminaries as Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins – two men for whom he has the greatest respect and admiration.

He was denied his third win of the year by the narrowest of margins – three hundreds of a second – when he finished runner- up in June’s two-day event at Morecambe.

Such results have seen the local man leap from being a Category One racer to Elite level – the top echelon of British cycling, of which there are only 100 in the country.

Battersby first took to cycling at the age of 16 and has dedicated himself to the sport for the last 20 years.

“I’m not sure why I started, but I’ve always had a love for the sport,” he said.

Having previously raced for Stretford Wheelers and the Lenoir Rhyne College, Battersby is now a member of teamBGlobal, a team formed last year which boasts some of the north’s top road-racers.

Although he admits he has hit the heights in the latter stages of his career, he is enjoying his success while it lasts while identifying his team-mate – teenager Chris Sherriffs – as one to watch. “I’m past my prime, but Chris is definitely one to look out for in the future,” he added.