Halfords seal Tour Series title

Rob Hayles won a sprint finish to the line in Southend

Team Halfords Bikehut secured the inaugural Tour Series title by winning the final round in Southend.

Rob Hayles won the race along the seafront course, edging out Malcolm Elliot and Wouter Sybrandy in a photo finish after over an hour of racing.

Hayles' win helped his side to edge out Candi TV-Marshalls Pasta to the overall title by just two points.

The race along a 1.5km course on the Western Esplanade was round 10 of the UK-wide city centre series.

The victorious team's manager, Keith Lambert, admitted it was a huge relief to win the title after a topsy-turvy season.

"It's a fantastic achievement," he told BBC Essex.

"It was obviously a target for the team at the beginning of the year, but we had a horrendous start where we had a big mechanical problem and were the next to last team.

"But fortunately at the end they have peaked at the right time."