Isle of Man Youth Tour Stage 2
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Stage 2 - Saturday, May 1st 2010 | by Richard Allen
| Reports Home Page | Report Stage 1 (prologue) | Full Results |
Josh Edmundson (Motorpoint-Marshalls Pasta RT) won stage two in the junior category of the Sleepwell Hotels Isle of Man International Youth Tour on Saturday. He broke clear on his own just four laps into the 11 lap race on a 9.33 kilometre circuit around Peel on the west coast of the Island.
With four laps remaining, Edmundson was joined by Sam Harrison (Planet X) and the two stayed clear with Edmundson sprinting to victory on the final ascent to the finish line at the top of the steep Switchback climb. Third place went to Simon Yates (British Cycling North West Region).
Overnight leader Dan McLay, who had won Friday evening’s prologue, was not placed in the top 10. Edmundson will wear the yellow jersey for Sunday’s final stage in Ramsey on the east coast on Sunday.
"I didn’t feel too great at the start," said Edmundson after the race. "There were a lot of attacks going and I went away with another rider for a while but he blew up and I then decided to go away on my own. When I saw Sam coming across, I decided to wait for him and we worked together fine. Tomorrow I’ll just have to watch Sam really, he’s a canny little rider."
Harrison (above) said he didn’t respond to Edmundson’s early attack straight away and decided to let the Motorpoint man hang in the wind for a while before he decided to cross the gap. "I went across when the race was splitting on the climb and managed to get to Josh" said Harrison. "We worked well and I was feeling good when we came to the climb for the last time. I was on his wheel but when he kicked, I just went backwards. It will be hard to get away on tomorrow’s stage as it’s nowhere near as tough as the Peel course, but I will probably give it a go."
In yellow after the prologue, Dan Mclay finished outside the top 10 on the first road stage.
Sunday’s final stage in the Junior category is a 92.6km race in Ramsey, a stage which Harrison won last year. But in 2009 he was six minutes down on GC and no threat to the overall leader so tactically it will be a completely different race for him tomorrow. Among the spectators for Saturday’s Peel stage was Saxo Bank pro Jonny Bellis who took a break from a training ride to watch the final few laps. Bellis is recovering well and training every day. He hopes to fly out to Italy to continue his training in the next few weeks.
Youth Races – Stage 2
More than 160 youth riders took part in the Ellerslie circuit stage of the Sleepwell Hotels Isle of Man International Youth Tour on Saturday afternoon.
Charlotte Broughton (Leicestershire RC) was a clear winner of the Girls C category race having plenty of time to celebrate as she crossed the line alone. She extended her lead in the general classification having won the prologue too.
There was a close battle in the Boys B race with race leader James Shaw (Heanor Clarion) being challenged by Ben Chapman (Team Milton Keynes). The pair finished well ahead of the field as the race broke up on a hilly course and it was Chapman who just edged it at the line.
Chris Latham (British Cycling North West Region) won the Boys A race and now lies in second place overall behind Harry Tanfield. Latham, from Bolton, was pleased with his stage win as he does not regard himself as a climber. “I’m more a rider for flat races and the final circuit race stage should suit me” he said.
All of the youth categories will finish the tour on Sunday with a series of circuit races at the Isle of Man’s National Sports Centre in Douglas. The 1km closed road circuit is fast and flat so it will provide for some exciting racing but is unlikely to cause any major shake-ups in the overall standings.
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