ADAM Hartley made his comeback from injury in the perfect manner by taking victory in the relaunched Ulverston Summer Road Race on Sunday.

The Great Britain Senior Academy and 100% ME team member from Blackpool had been out of action since April, but showed no ill-effects of that as he formed part of an early breakaway before going on to seal victory around the undulating course.

Hartley, who was the youngest rider on last year's Tour of Britain, was one of the group of 10 riders who broke away from the main bunch on the first lap, including Ulverston's Michael Hall – riding for TBW Bottecchia Wigmore RT.

That group had opened up a gap of around two-and-a-half minutes by the final lap despite battling a strong headwind and it was Hartley who held off the challenge of Hall to clinch the win by just a few seconds, with Crimson Performance Race Team's Adam MacRae coming home third.

Also in finishing in the lead group were Kirkby-in-Furness rider Tom Martin, racing for Wheelbase Castelli MGD, and Barrow Central Wheelers member Dave Huck, of Dalton.

They were pursued by a two-man chase which split from the peloton midway through the race, one of them being Robin Atkinson, who had taken a ferry and then driven the rest of the way from the Shetlands to take part in this event.

Organisers Lakes Road Club thanked the 50 volunteers who made the event possible as well, which included the marshals, members of the National Escort Group on motorbikes and British Cycling-appointed commissaires.

Organiser and club member Richard Dixon said: “We are pleased with the reception that the race had and the atmosphere around the fan zone was really good; a lot of riders commented on what a difference having some good support around the course made.”

TOP-15

1. Adam Hartley (Team 100% ME); 2. Michael Hall (TBW Bottechia Wigmore Race Team); 3. Adam Macrae (Crimson Performance Race Team); 4. Jamie Fletcher (Ellan Vannin CC/Appleby); 5. Ben Granger (Kendal Cycle Club); 6. Tom Martin (Wheelbase Castelli MGD); 7. Sam Fairhurst (Bill Nickson Cycles Race Team); 8. Richard Butler (Kendal Cycle Club); 9. Jimmy Smith (Specialized Racing); 10. David Huck (Barrow Central Wheelers); 11. Jake Cowen; 12. Simon Deplitch (Team Chronomaster); 13. Samuel Jackson; 14. Alan Dean (Edinburgh Road Club); 15. Robin Atkinson (Shetland Wheelers).