Steve James (r) became a full-time mountain biker at the end of 2009

Great Britain academy rider Steve James began the season with an aggressive third place in the UCI Mountain Biking Cross-Country World Cup at Dalby.

The 17-year-old from Crowthorne near Reading set off in the lead, was overtaken, but comfortably held on to third place to delight the home crowd.

James told BBC Radio York: "The race went perfectly to plan, really.

"I've definitely learned a lot about what it takes to ride at the front of the World Cup now."

He added: "My technical ability is definitely up there with the best of them, if not slightly better.

"But I was losing the time on the climbs so that's definitely the area I'm going to try and work on for the rest of the year."

Michiel Van Der Heijden of Holland won the race, with Belgium's Jens Schuermans second.

Simon Watts, who is coaching the Great Britain juniors at Dalby Forest, added: "We've got a bit of a thing with Steve and his firework moments.

"He tends to go off a bit like a rocket but last year, in the World Cups in Europe, he tended to blow up spectacularly and go backwards.

"To hold on to third at Dalby after having a sniff of the front is really positive for Steve."

Of the other British riders, Kenta Gallagher finished 13th, Luke Gray came in 19th, and luckless Grant Ferguson was the final finisher after his chain broke.

In the women's race, first-year junior Katy Winton finished fifth.

"To finish fifth in her first international bike race is great, she's got a lot to learn," added Watts.

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