Cycling Ulster had a boys and girls team competing in the Youth Tour of London last weekend. Katie Neill finished as best of the Ulster girls team after two days of competition, while Cathal Gallagher was the top Ulster rider in the boys event.

Full results can be seen here

 

CU Rider Team Report

Firstly, we would like to thank Cycling Ulster for giving us the opportunity to represent Ulster in the Youth Tour of London. We would also like to say a big thank you to Nicola, Paul and Gary, who gave up their time to give us this beneficial experience. It wouldn’t have been possible without them.

We raced over 2 days including 4 stages in total. The first stage was a time trial around a twisty short circuit previously used as a pre-olympic training venue. The second stage was a road race around the same circuit but in the other direction, this was run in extremely hot conditions.

The next day, Stage 3 was a crit on a flat and smooth course with a lot of tight corners. We all improved in group riding with high speed. The last stage was another road race on the same circuit as the stage before. This reinforced our learning around the sharp corners whilst in a bunch. We all got closer as a team and helped each other throughout the races.

It was a well run event and we would all love to get the opportunity again. It was a great experience to ride in much larger bunches than at home with 100 riders in the boys races and 70 in the girls.