BURY-PEDALSPORT'S other long distance visitors came to Goshen sports centre last Sunday and two mammoth battles ensued with Hellingly Lions from Eastbourne.

Both second and first team matches went to last heat deciders and at the end of a very good afternoon's racing honours were even with one win each.

For the second successive week, the combination league match could have gone either way and at the final heat Bury held a five point lead and needed a second place to secure victory.

Again it was 'comeback' rider Steve Elsworth, who played the vital role and he had to use all his experience as he shot from the start and kept his cool for a good win and, with his young partner in last race the heat was shared 5-5 and Bury were victors 61-56.

Steve Mann topped the scores with 15pts from three wins and a second, Steve Elsworth was unlucky to earn an exclusion, when he fell in heat two, but two wins and a second gave him 11 points. Scott Jarman added 9+2 bonus points from three riders, Will Collins 7+1, Chris Parish 7, Michael Parish 5, Dave Parish 4, Chris Dyson 3. Three first team riders were missing from the line up for the first division match but again the scores were locked together throughout the 18 heats. 45-45 at the interval tells it's own story.

At the end, a Hellingly 6-4 and 5-4 in the last two races swung it for the south coast team.

Bury were unlucky in the final race when Steve Muff moved at the start and was excluded despite protests of a movement by a visiting rider. Paul Dyson won the heat, but the 88-90 defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.

Paul Dyson was superb topping the scores and dropping by just one point in his five rides, for 19 points Ben Scranage scored 18, Fred Rothwell 16 +1, Tom Doyle 11+1, Steve Muff 10, Ashley Simpson 7, Steve Mann 4, Chris Parish 3.

Bury's two youngest riders continued their season long travels to compete in the second national round of the British youth and junior league at Ipswich, on Saturday. Declan O'Shea rode well in the under ten group, qualified for the B final, where he took third place. Brother Ryan, in the under 12s, battled hard but failed to progress through the qualifiers.

Four times Northern veterans champion, Paul Dyson, seems to be fully recovered from his recent knee injury and has hit top form just in time for the British veterans individual championship, at Astley and Tyldesley on Saturday.

Paul will be hoping to improve on his highest placing of third which he achieved at Horspath, Oxford, a couple of years ago. Fred Rothwell, John Whiting and Steve Mann are also in the line up. Qualifiers 12 noon, grand final 5pm.

On Sunday the penultimate round of the northern fours and junior league is at Sheffield.