DEXTER Gardias has been praised for his tactical nous after snatching a career high third in the Chorley Grand Prix.

The Oxford talent, who rides for Hampshire-based UCI Continental team Pedal Heaven, also grabbed the mountains competition in the opening round of British Cycling’s Motorpoint Spring Cup.

With rivals NFTO boasting four contenders in an eight-man front group, the odds were stacked firmly against the 25-year-old getting anything out of the 116-mile battle.

But Gardias showed great composure and maturity to ride himself on to the podium, only missing out on second in a sprint with Dale Appleby after Ed Bradbury had soloed to glory.

The performance represented a career high for the former ONE Pro Cycling rider, who was sixth in the Severn Bridge Road Race and eighth in the Wally Gimber Trophy earlier this term.

And his directeur sportif, Tim Elverson, was delighted with how he tackled a tricky finale in Lancashire to earn Pedal Heaven a share of the spoils.

Elverson said: "Dex played the end very, very well. When you have four NFTO riders there, who rode a very good race, it could easily have been a seventh or an eighth.

"I thought he had to get it absolutely perfect to get anything. So to pull off a third was a really, really clever ride from him and it was about the best we could have hoped for.

"Had we had another rider in that group, it might have been a bit different. We may have been able to do a bit more counter-attacking.

"But Dex had to play his cards a little more close to his chest and he did that very well. He was very good and it bodes well for the season."

Gardias will now hope to be selected in the Pedal Heaven team when the Spring Cup resumes with the Manx International on the Isle of Man on Sunday, April 10.

The series also includes the two-day Tour of the Reservoir and the Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix before it climaxes with the Lincoln Grand Prix on Sunday, May 15.

The Spring Cup forms part of the British Cycling Elite Road Series - the premier domestic road racing competition.