TEENAGE cyclist Alex Paton has risen to the No1 spot in the latest youth cyclo-cross rankings.

The 15-year-old VC Deal rider, who lives in Crabble Avenue, Dover, is also leading the National Trophy series with two wins and a second place to his credit.

Richard Wood, his coach at VC Deal, said: "Alex is now one of the country’s most talented young cyclists across a range of disciplines.

"He started cycling when he was 10 and for the first couple of years he learnt his craft at our Crabble coaching sessions. He competed at Under-12 level in cyclo-cross and mountain bike races. He did okay without really pulling up any trees.

"But during the last couple of years he has transformed himself from the fairly ordinary into a tremendously fit, strong and hugely talented athlete.

"At 15 it’s too early to say how far Alex can go but he has huge potential. He’s so good at all disciplines we can’t even be sure what he’s best at yet."

Earlier this year, Alex was selected for British Cycling’s Talent Team, a national scheme backed with lottery money intended to identify and nurture the country’s most talented youngsters.

He has now added track racing to his list of disciplines and during the summer competed at national level in mountain bike cross-country, road racing and track racing.