NIKKI Harris was left wondering what might have been – even though she finished as the leading British rider in the Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Harris was thrilled to finish 14th in a fast-paced race in Hoogerheide in Holland – proof, if she needed it, that she can compete with the world's finest riders.

And her ride drew rich praise from British team manager Simon Burney, who believes a fit and focused Harris can spur on the other members of the British team.

But the 22-year-old from Draycott had to come from the fourth row of the grid to get to where she finished – as well as having to negotiate a crash on the first corner of the race.

British champion Helen Wyman was not so lucky in that melee, getting the worst of it as several riders came down, and spending the rest of the race coming from even further back than Harris, eventually finishing 16th.

Britain's third rider, Gabby Day, came in 24th in a race won brilliantly by Dutch woman Marianne Vos.

"I was very happy with that," said Harris.

"I would have been made up at the start of the year if you'd said I would have got a top 15 at the World Championships – to be honest, I wouldn't have believed you.

"I was a bit gutted to have been caught up in the crash on the first corner.

"I'd come right from the back and was in that first little group and I know I could have stayed with them but it happens and, maybe next year, I'll get a bit more luck.

"I fought hard to get back in the mix – I guess the crash really fired me up."

Plainly, Harris is enjoying her cycling much better now that – after an unhappy time as part of Brtiain's track squad – she has decided cyclo-cross and road racing are her best two disciplines.

"I really enjoyed it and I want to keep going now, improve my riding for next season and, hopefully, be selected again," she said.

"I'll go away from here and start working on my weaknesses, like running and building up the strength in my arms.

"If you have form, you can perform on any course but, if it's muddy, you'll be doing a fair amount of running and I would have struggled with that if it had been muddy in Holland.

"The fact it was hard and fast favoured me."

Burney, from Chesterfield, highlighted the "what if" nature of Harris's ride – but was delighted to see her come to the fore, eventually finishing only a minute and a half behind the winner.

"There was a coming together at the start which brought both Nikki and Helen down," said Burney.

"To be honest, there is always the 'what if' but that's racing.

"There are very few world championships where people don't crash and you make your own luck to some extent.

"But I think Nikki did an excellent ride.

"She's been really focused, really motivated to do well and we're delighted with her result.

"To be able to ride at the kind of speed she was going I think proves she's moved on massively during the season.

"She just has to get out of her track training mentality and focus now on her 'cross.

"She's already talking about what she needs to do for next season – she knows her weaknesses.

"She used to be a mountain biker, then she ended up on the track programme and now she's said she realises how much she's missed riding 'cross and it's great now that she's fully committed.

"It adds another one to the other two girls living in Belgium and mixing it up in the races over there.

"From our point of view, the other two aren't moving up at all, so it's good to see a new rider emerging who will perform and, hopefully, give them a kick up the behind in the process."