NEWPORT’S Jon Mould has geared up for the defence of his British Cycling Elite Circuit Series crown by helping team JLT Condor win their third Pearl Izumi Tour Series title.

Mould crashed out during the final race of the series but teammates Graham Briggs, Alex Frame, Alistair Slater, Chris Lawless did enough to make sure JLT Condor secured yet more series glory.

Their 2016 success follows titles in 2011 and 2014, and their victory this year means team boss Dean Downing is the first man to win the series as both a rider and manager.

It was also a stellar campaign for Mould on an individual level, the 25-year-old claiming six stage wins to become the most successful racer in the history of the series.

Mould crossed the finish line first in Motherwell, Redditch, Aberystwyth, Durham, Stevenage and Croydon, taking his overall tally of victories to 11, three more than Olympic champion Ed Clancy.

A Commonwealth Games competitor for Wales in 2010 and 2014, Mould moved to Downing and John Herety’s squad in the winter following a stint with ONE Pro Cycling.

Mould has been on the podium at the UCI Track World Cup in the past and feels all the hard work in the velodrome is paying dividends on the road.

“I think I’m quite lucky in that, because I’ve been on the track for so long, that the points race work has always been there,” Mould told RoadCyclingUK.

“It’s made my life a lot easier. I’ve been off the track since the Commonwealth Games (in 2014), but it definitely makes my life easier as that track background I have has stayed in my system.

“I’ve done a lot of racing this year – a lot more than I normally would in the past three years really.

“Last year especially, we hardly raced in the build-up. We trained a lot instead – which works in some ways, you get your fitness from training – but this year there’s been racing since January.

“It’s worked pretty well for me this year. It’s been really good heading to JLT-Condor.

“Last year, with ONE Pro Cycling, the whole year was built around the Tour Series. I didn’t really get much chance to do anything else.

“It’s been good to come at it from a different angle. It’s still a big aim for the season, the Tour Series – it always is – but to be able to come into it in a different way and with a bit more race fitness has helped.”

Mould was also part of the Nigel Mansell-backed Team UK Youth that were overall series champions in 2013.