Ashford's Tom Ransley, who won bronze with the GB men's eight

Ashford rower Tom Ransley won a medal in his first World Cup event after securing a bronze in the Great Britain eight in the season-opener at Banyoles, Spain, on Sunday.

The 23-year-old – who rows for Cambridge University BC – was part of GB Rowing’s most successful squad – which won nine golds, a silver and the bronze in the final race of the regatta.

Ransley is part of the new-look men’s eight, which is completely different from the crew which won Olympic silver in Beijing last summer.

Britain battled at the head of the field against Italy and led after 500m and 1,500m but fell back to third in the closing stages.

The Italians crossed the line in 6:02.74 ahead of Poland, who produced a fine last 250m to finish in 6:04.28, less than a second ahead of Ransley and his team-mates.

The Netherlands trailed home in fourth, nearly three seconds behind.

Ransley said: "It was OK today. It’s still nice to win a medal in my first World Cup."

The next World Cup regatta takes place in Munich, Germany, from June 19-21.