17/03/2026
Ok will try and keep this short......very top level racing for our development riders this weekend. Jago, Liam, Cai, Harper and Henry raced the 2 peaks for the boys.
Ruby, Jess and Abby for the girls.
First up the girls in a TT/hillclimb.
Ruby first off came home 21st with a very solid ride and a progressive power output. Very much in contact with the best woman around. Ruby is a super young u23 rider, if 13 months younger she would actually be a first year junior.
Abby next off came in a super solid 26th and 2nd junior. Abby is very very new to this level of racing putting a solid winter to very good use. She will be a great asset to the team this year.
Jess in her first ever road road race came home in a very respectable 37th. Also a junior rider.
The combined times put them as 2nd in the team car line up. To do this with 3 such young riders is pretty cool and probably went a little underestimated.
Stage 2 started well, girls getting dropped pretty much from the gun. But our girls holding on.
The first 10-12 mile was brutal and constantly uphill.
Jess was the first of our 3 to get gapped from the main group, but still holding a top 30 place on the road.
At around 12 miles and the highest point on the race a spread out lead group of 18 had a gap on 3 riders, 2 of those riders being Ruby and Abby, around 20 and 30s off the front. Team car just arriving behind them and the long mainly down hill / rolling section coming up, we are pretty sure that with a little encouragement from the car, they are getting back on. Putting them both in the top 20 entering lap 2. However some confusion in signs, marshalls trying to stop traffic and point the way at a double left hander....resulted in disaster and them going straight on and around 2 miles off course 😔. It happens, not very often, but it does happen.
Abby got driven back to the course and restarted behind the last placed rider in the hope that she could then start the next day.
Jess held her position and found her mate Melissa to ride with but again with about 4 miles to go....a blown sign sent her also the wrong way 😔
Again it doesn't happen often.
So day two all girls are out of the race but, it's important to take the positives and know that we will improve. The signs of pushing top 20 spots on the road are encouraging at this stage of the season.
The men's race was also brutal, 3 of the boys hit PB numbers in the first 30min and the other 2 came very close. It's fair to say that the warm ups could of been better and the health of one could also of been better.
We planned to be aggressive and it's fair to say the boys started well on lap one.
Cai was the first dropped from our boys in 49th place out of 80 starters. He will be disappointed with that.
Liam drafted at the last minute and with a cold was the next to go at around the halfway mark, riding big numbers we just lacked the health and depth at this stage to keep going with the lead 40 riders. As a first year in his first real big boy race.....he will improve a lot we are sure.
Harper as a junior was brilliant, as in the video he held the very front of the race as long as he could. Eventually dropped with some very good riders at around P30 and first junior by a mile.
Jago and Henry both stayed at the front end for much of the race, for Jago his first race at this level coming over 27th just off a group of top level riders is actually a big step forward.
Henry, was disappointed not to be in the lead group of 13 but showed his experience from last year coming over 23rd.
Looking back at the numbers, it was about as hard as UK racing gets so again with such a lack of experience at this level we probably did OK. Liam, Harper and Jago will all improve. Henry with a race in his legs will improve and Cai just needs to warm up.
Next up the hillclimb.
Henry clearly wanted to make a statement here and set an amazing time 9:19 up Holme moss for 3rd place overall and a pretty fantastic podium.
Harper moved up on GC with a very solid 18th! As a junior.
Cai was very solid on the 360 bike for 29th making it a very solid climb.
Liam just ill from the day before got out what he could.
Jago fair to say still learning at this point a little disappointed with his 32nd place.
As a development team we will always have ups and downs, that's how things role and how we learn as riders.
Weather then turned very bad and both womens and men's race cancelled 😔
That resulted in our Pal Jake Edwards taking the overall win on the back of a stunning hillclimb! It's really great to see him going so well just before he heads to Italy with Zappi.
Over at the main TT of the day.
Davey came home 2nd overall and clear first junior as he continues to recover.
Red came home first youth rider.
Molly was 1st youth female in her first ever TT.
John Bardsley also put down a big marker coming 3rd overall on a road bike!
John is not far off his very best now, but the great thing is....his upward curve is really positive and we know he has a lot more to come before heading to Belgium in May.
Next weekend it's Ingelton TT and crit racing.
