Steve Dennis has won the season-long Sussex Sporting Courses Competition.

The East Grinstead CC star, who beat former Tour de France ace Sean Yates to claim the Sussex 50-mile title earlier this season, clinched the title by finishing fourth overall in the Bognor Regis CC Goodwood Classic hilly time trial and was the first Sussex rider.

The 28-mile course included part of the 1982 World Championship circuit. The tough climbs were made more difficult by heavy rain which washed grit onto the roads and caused several punctures.

One puncture victim was former event winner Mark Jones (GS Stella), from Storrington. Jones had already caught one of the favourites, Malcolm Cox (St Raphael), who started one minute ahead of him.

Jones quickly received a spare wheel and only lost about a minute but it enabled Cox to pass him again.

The winner was Hampshire's Simon Berogna (St Raphael) who clocked 1hr.13min.55sec.

Second place went to Mark Sinnott (Epsom), in 1hr.14min.49sec and his clubmate Stephen Emmerson was third with 1hr.14min.57sec.

Dennis recorded 1hr.15min.17sec Jones was fifth in 1hr.15min.19sec, 23 seconds head of Cox and had to reflect on the fact that his puncture may have cost him the race.

Three other Sussex clubmen made the top ten. Tristan Court (Brighton Mitre) was eighth in 1hr.17min.21sec. Chris Shepherd (Rother Valley) finished ninth in 1hr.2Omin.32sec and Tim Holmes (Brighton Mitre) was tenth with 1hr.21min.33sec.

Liam Terry (Bognor Regis) was first junior in 1hr.26min.33sec and Anglela Nainby (East Grinstead) won the women's event in 1hr.28min.20sec.

Sean Yates (Team Clean) and Northern Ireland star Michael Hutchinson (MDT) won the 18-mile Redmon two-up in Surrey with a course and event record time of 35min.3sec.

The Sussex Cycle Racing League's annual meeting and prize presentation takes place tomorrow (Friday) at the Adur Outdoor Activities Centre, Shoreham (7.30pm).