William Truelove was crowned victorious in the opening round of the Under-23 Men’s National Road Series at the PB Performance Espoirs road race, while Rory Gravelle and Kayla Dinnin secured wins in the third round of the Youth Circuit Series in Cheshire.
Under-23 Men’s National Road Series: Round 1
The Under-23 Men’s National Road Series got underway on Sunday with round one in Coalville, Leicestershire as riders competed over the rolling 144km course, made up of 10 laps.
A bunch sprint saw William Truelove (ROKiT-SRCT) claim a narrow win over Sam Clark (trainSharp Elite) in second and Rowan Baker (London Dynamo) in third.
There were attacks from the gun as riders attempted to get away early on, but none that stuck as the peloton chased down every break and increased the pace.
With just a lap and a half to go, George Wood (Cycling Sheffield) put in a surprise attack to ride clear from the bunch and get ahead on his own. Eleven riders, including Truelove, Clark, Baker, and Matt Houlberg (Embark Spirit BSS) managed to bridge the gap on a flatter section of the course, and gained an advantage of 45 seconds over the peloton.
The 12 riders took it all the way to the line, with a final sprint seeing Truelove steal the win to lead the overall series, while Clark and Baker lunged for the podium places.
The second round of the series will see riders take to the start line at the Yorkshire U23 Classic on Sunday 7 May.
Youth Circuit Series: Round 3
Rory Gravelle and Kayla Dinnin took the Youth A wins in the third round of the Youth Circuit Series, while Finlay Storrie and Katie Lawson secured victories in the Youth B category at Oulton Park in Cheshire.
The riders took to the 4.3km circuit with sweeping turns, climbs, and descents to make for exciting racing, which saw the supporting women’s race be won by Dame Sarah Storey.
In the Youth A boy’s category, 92 riders took to the start line, with Gravelle (Velo Myrddin CC powered by Y Beic) taking the win from a sprint finish, jumping at the right time to secure the victory by half a second. The previous round’s winner Max Hinds (Evolution Racing Academy) finished in second place, while his teammate Cian Evans came in third.
The girls’ race saw Dinnin (Dumfries CC) claim the win after a solo breakaway, punching her fist in the air as she crossed the line 12 seconds ahead of the peloton. Evie Smith (Shibden Cycling Club) had the best sprint of the day to take second place, while Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle CC) took third in a bunch finish.
Storrie (Maindy Flyers CC) was crowned victorious in the Youth B boys race, snatching the win by half a second, but still managed to raise both arms in the air. Second place went to Archie Whittemore (Clifton CC), while Oscar Shaw (Beeston Cycling Club) secured third place.
It was another sprint finish in the Youth B girls race as Lawson (Secret-Training.cc) lunged for the win, followed by Rose Lewis (Halesowen A & CC) in second and Grace Upshall (Poole Wheelers CC) in third.
The riders will next compete in a multi-stage event at the Sleepwell Hotels Isle of Man Youth and Junior Tour over the weekend of 28-30 May.
