Cycling Success

The National Youth and Junior Track Championships brought some of Britain’s most exciting young riders to Manchester for 5 days of racing.  Congratulations to Year 12 pupil Josh McClune on winning Gold in the Madison event. The youth open Madison brought the championships to a dramatic close, with one of the most thrilling races of the event.

Race report:

The duo of Josh McClune (Shibden Apex RT) and Arthur Sleightholm (Shibden Apex RT) and the team of Lewis Anderson (Shibden Apex RT) and Ethan Senyurek-Willis (Beeston Cycling Club) were locked into a back-and-forth battle throughout the race, trading places at the top of the table after almost every sprint lap.  No team could hold down a lead for long, with Alexander Goodwill (Preston Park Youth CC (PPYCC)) and Alex MacInnes (Team Ohten) the only pair to create a sizeable gap to the bunch coming into the final few laps, though they were unable to gain the lap in time.  At the final sprint, McClune and Sleightholm were shoulder-to-shoulder with Anderson and Senyurek-Willis, with just one point separating the two teams. McClune’s sprint proved the difference maker, as he peeled away at the final corner to help seal the national title with 26 points.  Anderson and Senyurek-Willis finished in a well-deserved second on 23 points, while a brilliant ride by Finley Andrews (Team Ohten) and Finlay Burns (GKR Racing), recovering after briefly going down, saw them take home bronze on 17 points.  Speaking after their win, McClune said: “It feels amazing. We just work really well together and we’ve been practising since the start of the season, so I’m really happy to pull it off.”

An amazing achievement Josh – well done!