Salt Ayre riders star in Barrow and Blackpool

The entire Cog Set race team took part in the Pearl Izumi Series youth race around the town centre streets of Barrow-in-Furness on Friday, May 29.

The racing was hard, with strong winds and tight, tricky corners, but towards the end of the under 16 boys race Cog Set’s George Wharton forced his way into a three-man break.

Thanks to clever blocking tactics by team-mate Elliot Reed, the trio of riders opened a gap on the rest of the field and in the last few hundred metres George launched a blistering sprint to take an overdue and thoroughly-deserved win.

Cog Set’s Amy Monkhouse took the victory in the under 14 girls race with Evie Barrow in third and Bobby Horton took third in the under 14 boys race to round off a highly successful evening for the club.

The good run of results continued the following day on Blackpool Promenade in the Lewis Balyckyi Memorial Crits.

In the under 16 boys race the lead group was whittled down by the wind-blown, sea-front circuit that saw the riders battle the same steep climb 18 times.

With six laps to go, Cog Set’s Elliot Reed and Daniel Gibson of the Inspire VCUK Racing Team pulled clear, and forced an ever-growing gap over the rest of the race.

Elliot rode the head-to-head sprint perfectly, forcing his breakaway companion to the front and coming past him in the closing metres to take a convincing win.

In the under 14 boys race Bobby Horton got his second third place of the weekend, and in the under 12 boys race Adam Hodgson rode strongly to finish a fine fourth.

This weekend a four-strong and in-form Cog Set team travel down to London to take part in the national-level Hillingdon Slipstreamers Circuit Races.