Britain’s best young cyclists in Lancaster and Morecambe

The area around Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park was transformed into an uphill time trial course on a dry and sunny Saturday afternoon, as each rider took their turn tackling the short but lung-busting climb.

The action moved to Preston’s UCLan arena on Sunday, with the youngsters racing over much longer distances, according to their age. While the under 8s covered four miles, the under 16 boys rode 35 miles with Jake Stewart of Solihull Cycling Club the winner in one hour, 22 minutes and 32 seconds.

Monday saw everybody converge on Salt Ayre, with non-stop action as everyone raced twice.

Up against Britain’s most talented riders, the members of Salt Ayre Cog Set competed brilliantly across all three days and four stages. George Wharton and Elliot Reed rode strongly and consistently in the Boys Under 16 races, riding at speeds that averaged over 27 miles per hour.

In the Under 14 Boys, Bobby Horton stayed well in the thick of the action to finish 20th overall.

Under 14 Girls Amy Monkhouse and Evie Barrow were placed in the top 10 on the first stage, and Amy finished an impressive 10th overall.

In the Under 12 Boys, Adam Hodgson also raced to 10th overall, with club-mates John Roberts, Isaac Atkinson and William Dykes also all performing well at this level.

In the Under 12 Girls category, Tilly Percy finished in the top 10 on every stage, securing eighth place overall; with Nancye Roberts also riding well.

Cog Set’s youngest competitors, John Bardsley, Esther Wong and Archie Honeysett all gained great experience and put in gutsy performances in the Under 10s races.