COLCHESTER cyclist Chris Welham received praise from an Olympic medallist following an eye-catching performance at the World Track Masters, in France.

Welham impressed for Fenland Clarion Cycle Club in the 60-64 race category in Paris, achieving personal best (PB) times in both the time trial and individual pursuit.

He was congratulated afterwards by 1980 Olympic silver medallist and individual pursuit double world champion, Alain Bondue.

Welham took on competitors in an international field, in the 60-64 category.

He improved his time trial PB by one second and finished 36th in the world in the final.

And in the individual pursuit, he beat his Hungarian opponent to secure another PB, leaving him 25th in the world in his category.

Welham said: "I think it was my best cycling experience, so far.

"To go there and win with those times was just amazing.

"I managed to get a personal best in both the time trial and individual pursuit, which I was very happy about.

"I was happy with my performance and it's been a bit of a whirlwind, the last few weeks.

"It was a totally new experience.

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"The velodrome was absolutely packed and it was really, really loud with the air horns and shouting from the crowd.

"Before the race, it was a bit difficult to stay level headed with the atmosphere and to stay with the plan we'd had in training.

"But in the end, I think the crowd helped me go even faster and motivated me even more."

Welham's fine performance at the World Masters follows hot on the heels of his winning display at last month's National Masters Track Cycling Championships, in Newport.

He is benefiting from the coaching of Tom Newman and former Great Britain decathlete Gavin Sunshine, who was once trained by Daley Thompson.

Welham’s success is testament to his physical and mental strength, after he recovered from a horrendous accident in 2018 which left him with serious injuries.

He added: "I spoke to both of my coaches and I changed the gearing for the bike quite a bit, from the British Championships.

"Apart from a handful of laps, I hadn't had a chance to ride it and it was a quick turnaround.

"In both races, I didn't know what to expect, with both needing a different gear and different aspects from the bike so it was nice to improve my time from the British Championships.

"For the individual pursuit, we used an ipad so we could see the lap times and I was two seconds a lap quicker than I ever have been.

"By the third lap, I'd caught my opponent and overtook him.

"It was a combination of how fast I was going and catching him - when I came around the corner I thought 'here he is!'

"For three laps, I'd been keeping the same speed and I was wondering how long I could sustain that speed but it worked out well."