Last weekend saw over 350 riders head to the Isle of Man for the annual youth tour which formed the 2nd round of the British Cycling National Youth Circuit Series. PPYCC was represented by 3 riders – Freddie Newman and Lukas Nerurkar in Youth A and Luke Goodwill in Youth B.
Stage 1 was a short tough prologue – 1.6km long uphill drag that needed to be tackled flat out. Freddie finished 7th and Lukas 21st, with only a few seconds separating the majority of riders. Luke finished 31st, a little disappointed but knowing his favoured stage was the next day.
Stage 2 was a hilly stage set on a 7km closed road circuit. The riders tackle a tough 1km climb followed by some flat and then more climbing before a fast descent and then back up again. In the Youth B race the 66 riders were whittled down to 18 riders in the lead group by the 5th and final ascent to the finish. Luke stayed in the front group and finished 12th on the stage and due to the time gaps moved up 16 places on GC to lie 15th overall. The Youth A race was similar war of attrition, with the tough pace taking its toll on many riders. Freddie and Lukas stayed in the select lead group of only 14 riders with Freddie finishing 14th and Lukas 5th. Lukas was now 10th on GC and Freddie 11th. Great results for all 3 riders. You can see from this picture what Freddie felt like at the finish after 11 laps !
Stage 3 was very different, a gently rolling 7.5km closed road circuit used for the Southern 100 motorcycle race. With a tail wind on the long wide finish straight it was going to be fast …. and it was ! In the Youth B the pack stayed together, averaging nearly 25mph and Luke clocked 41mph in the sprint ! Luke said it was quite choppy and he stayed safe rolling in with the bunch. The Youth A race was even faster and unfortunately with riders trying to gain position on the final lap there was a crash which Freddie was caught in but uninjured. Lukas stayed safe in the front group.
After 3 great days of racing Luke finished 16th overall in Youth B. Lukas was 10th and Freddie 11th in Youth A. Huge congratulations to the boys on their results and to all those who competed. The next round of the National Youth Circuit Series is at Redbridge 26th May.
Before then many of our riders have two weekends of National Youth Omnium qualifying rounds starting at our own Preston Park this Sunday. We hope to see as many of our members there as possible, even if you’re not racing it’s great to watch, there’ll be food and drink, and the forecast is good.
Hope to see you on Sunday