Isle of Man cyclist Max Walker claimed an excellent top-10 finish at the UCI World Road Race Championships in Scotland over the weekend.

The Trinity Racing rider was competing in the under-23 men’s road race which covered 168.4 kilometres between Loch Lomond and Glasgow, featuring six laps of a gruelling circuit round the latter which was used at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Like the other road races at this year’s world championships, the under-23 contest proved to be a race of attrition, with only 79 riders finishing out of a field 177 riders because of the conditions which led to multiple crashes on the slippery roads.

Walker formed part of a three-man second chase group that attempted to reel in the breakaway but France’s Axel Lawrence stayed clear to claim a dramatic solo victory ahead of the first chasers.

The Manxman crossed the line in a superb ninth place with two other riders sprinting for seventh position, behind a five-strong group which included Walker’s Great Britain team-mate Jack Rootkin-Gray who finished fourth.

There was bad news for fellow Isle of Man cyclist Lizzie Holden though, as she crashed out of the women’s road race 24 hours later.

Having claimed an impressive top-15 finish in the women’s time trial three days earlier, Holden had been riding well near the front of the peloton but unfortunately crashed on a descent and was unable to continue.

The reigning British time trial champion was taken away for a check-up by the race doctors and suffered many cuts and grazes but luckily no broken bones, although she did require stitches to her knee.w