Young cyclists come home with a Yellow Jersey

WARRINGTON-based North Cheshire Clarion Cycling Club Juniors returned from the Isle of Man Youth with a Yellow Jersey, podium positions and personal bests from all the team.
Ten of the club’s junior riders represented the club at this British Cycling National Youth Circuit event competing in all categories from Youth A (under 16s) to Youth E (under 8s).  There were three days of road racing including a Time Trial, Road Race, Circuit Race for Youth E-C and a further Road Race for the Youth B&A.
NCC’s Frank White secured the yellow jersey in the Youth E Boys race. On day one Frank set a time 16 seconds faster than his nearest competitor in the Prologue Time Trial and remained dominant taking the win on all three stages to secure the Yellow Jersey. Betty Jones competed in the Youth E Girls and came away with 5th place overall and a 2nd place in the points competition thanks to a strong race on day three in which she finished 3rd.
Albie Jones and Matthew Hill competed for the first time at national level in the Youth C Boys category which included some very tough competition from across the UK. Albie Jones got off to a great start placing 9th on the Prologue Time Trial and cemented his eventual overall 10th place with a superb finish on the hilly stage 2 road race in Ellerslie. Matthew Hill, also competing for the first time at this level, certainly looked to be relishing the challenge with some impressive and determined riding, notably in the final stage circuit race where he achieved a personal best. Lottie Kilroy represented the club in the Youth C Girls race and rode determinedly over all three stages.
Four of the club’s riders competed in the Youth B Boys race, Raphael Tabiner got off to a great start in the time trial setting a time only 10 seconds off the leader. The highlight of Raph’s weekend was a breath-taking stage win on day 2’s brutal hilly road race which secured him 10 bonus seconds and promoted him to 2nd place overall, only 5 seconds off the race leader. Sebastian Grindley also rode extremely well in the first two stages and went into day three within a minute of the race leader. John White rode strongly over the two days, as did Simeon Kilroy who battled back courageously after suffering a mechanical issue on stage 2.
Stage 3’s curtain closer was a road race on flat roads around Castletown which saw the group of 66 riders remain largely intact for the entire race averaging speeds of 24mph-plus for nearly an hour! The sprint for the line was an incredible spectacle to watch with NCC’s Sebastian Grindley crossing the line in 4th place. For Raph, despite finishing in the lead group, bonus seconds awarded on the final placings meant he dropped to third place overall – still a phenomenal achievement in such a strong field of riders.
Second claim rider Lachlan Hacker competed in the Youth A Boys race wearing his Giant Halifax team colours and finished 15th overall in the General Classification after an impressive effort on Day 2 which saw him cross the line in 14th place, a minute in front of the chasing group.
Liesl Hacker, (NCC coaching team) said: ‘I couldn’t be prouder. When we started this club, we wanted the kids to embrace and enjoy cycling, we never imagined we would have so many of them competing at this level, it’s fantastic to see’.
‘The club was set up to encourage more kids into cycling and to introduce them to a range of cycling disciplines including road, mountain bike, track and cyclocross in a fun environment through structured coaching sessions and social events and rides.’