CASTLEMORTON mountain bikers Belinda and Andrew Tarling retained their National Trailquest Championship crown in Hamsterly, County Durham.

For the second year in a row, the pair dominated the mixed team category.

Their score of 380 points during the five-hour event would have landed them a top-10 spot in the solo men's class, and left them pretty well unopposed in the mixed team.

The pair were delighted to have retained their title with Andrew saying: "It was a bit of a trip to County Durham. But we're very pleased with the result.

"I was a bit worried that last year was simply a fluke but we seem to have got to grips with the sport pretty well now."

The 30 checkpoints were spread throughout the forest, which sits on the eastern fringes of the high Pennies and over the surrounding moorland bridleways and steep, narrow lanes.

Although a lot of the area was over 1,500 foot, the principle problem for competitors was not the hills themselves but finding an economical route around them to reach the well-separated checkpoints.

"Its always harder in an area that you're unfamiliar with, the local rider's knowledge of bridleways and tracks gives them a good 20-point headstart." added Andrew.

The tactic proved successful for the pair, who do much of their training on the roads and tracks around Malvern. They came in with five minutes to spare having covered 85 kilometres and visited 20 of the checkpoints to chalk up their 380 score.

Now this season could be a double celebration with the duo favourites to top the National League.