Downing picked up his first stage win of the 2011 Tour Series in Colchester

Rapha Condor Sharp's Dean Downing said he had to fight a tough Colchester circuit to seal victory in Stage Four of the Halfords Tour Series.

Downing, 36, pipped Niklas Gustavsson, Jereon Janssen and Yanto Barker in the final sprint for the line.

The win gives RCS their fourth stage win out of four in the Tour Series, and keeps them top of the team standings.

"It was a hard, hard circuit, it took me three or four laps to get across to the breakaway," Downing told BBC Essex.

"I was going strong and kept looking at the speeds and we were doing 55 kilometres and hour down the back straight.

"I just managed to get on Yanto Barker's wheel coming into the sprint, went with about 100 metres to go and managed to take the victory."

Essex-based Twenty3c Orbea had a tough night in their home county, finishing ninth in the team standings and dropping to eighth in the overall rankings.

Their highest finisher was St Albans-born Marcel Six, who crossed the line in 10th place.

RCS moved on to 40 points at the top of the standings, six ahead of Endura Racing with Sigma Sport-Specialized a distant third on 24.

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