Joshua Tarling and Lucy Gadd were crowned champions at the Tour of the North West over the jubilee weekend with dominant displays of talent across three challenging stages.
Off the back of claiming thejunior national time-trial title last weekend, Tarling (Wales Racing Academy) put down incredible performances over the bank holiday weekend, while Gadd (Storey Racing) took three podiums and two victories to be awarded the strongest rider in the women’s field.
The 360cycling Tour of the North West was the fourth round of the Junior and Under 23 Women’s National Road Series and the fifth of the Junior Men’s National Road Series, with three stages spread across the two days in Clitheroe and Garstang.
Junior Men
The men’s time trial kicked off the racing on Saturday with an undulating 6.1km lap of the Bashall Eaves circuit, which Tarling dominated with a time of 8:00. Mattie Dodd (Backstedt Bike Performance JRT) was 18 seconds behind to claim second, and Jed Smithson (Fensham Howes-MAS Design) finished third in a time of 8:20.
The afternoon saw the junior men take to the start line of the technical 69.2km road race, with Tarling claiming another heroic victory from a solo breakaway after a puncture early on. The Welshman finished 1:48 ahead of the bunch, with Tomos Pattinson (Halesowen A & CC) finishing second, and Smithson claiming another third-place finish.
Stage three’s 77.9km road race of long descents, tight corners and a gruelling uphill sprint finish saw Smithson claim a victory in a sprint finish, after the bunch chased down an early breakaway. Ralf Holden (Utmost IOM Junior Cycling Team) crossed the line to take second, while Smithson’s teammate Matthew Brennan took third.
Saturday’s double wins were enough to keep Tarling in the leader’s seat, while Smithson’s consistent podium finishes saw him take second, and teammate Brennan rounded off the podium in third.
Junior and Under-23 Women
Gadd showed her power in the women's time trial on Saturday, taking the win on stage one in a time of 9:07 - 20 seconds ahead of teammate Anya Tamplin (Storey Racing). Junior rider Holly Ramsey (Brother UJ-Orientation Marketing) took third in 9:33.
Stage two’s road race showed off some exciting talent over the 51.9km road race, with a photo finish required to separate the top three riders following a nail-biting sprint. Gadd prevailed to take her second victory of the day, followed closely by Emma Jeffers (Jadan-Vive le Velo) and Awen Roberts (Liv Cycling Club-Halo Films).
In the final stage on Sunday, an early solo breakaway from Tamplin put the pace down for the 59km race. A mechanical then saw Tamplin caught by Gadd and Roberts for another tight sprint finish. Roberts’ last gasp effort saw her take the top spot – a bike length ahead of Gadd in second and Tamplin in third.
Gadd’s dominant performances saw her take the top step of the podium as the weekend drew to a close, with Roberts taking second and Tamplin third.
