The torrential weather which affected the Junior race earlier in the day had eased slightly, but the wind was still strong and the rain constant as stage one of the Sleepwell Hotels Youth portion of the Isle of Man Tour started in Ellerslie.

A decision was taken to shorten the races for safety reasons – and the looks on the faces of the competitors as they finished suggested it was a well-judged decision.

A typically fast-paced Under 16 Boys race ended in a bunch sprint with the first six riders given the same time – Daniel Tulett of Specialized Race team took the win from Conor Davies of Team RL360 Isle of Man with VC Londres’ Fred Wright third. With time bonuses taken into account, that put Tulett and Wright equal on General Classification with Davies just a second back.

In the Under 16 Girls race, RST Racing Team’s Jessica Roberts managed to edge clear on the difficult uphill finish – putting two second in to Ellie Russell of Sportcity Velo – plus three additional bonus seconds. Pfeiffer Georgi of Giant Cycling Club took third in the stage – six seconds further back - and the bonuses mean that Roberts leads Russell by 2 seconds going into the final stage with Georgi 14 seconds off the lead.

In the Under 14 Boys, Beeline Cycles’ Ben Tulett made it a family affair – although the result wasn’t quite as close as in the older category with a second separating him from Lichfield City’s Lewis Askey. Alfie George was third – four seconds back and time bonuses put him six seconds off the lead in third on GC – and meant that Tulett and Askey are tied for the overall.

Becky Surridge of VC Londres had a comfortable win – if anyone riding in those conditions can be ‘comfortable’ over Amelia Sharpe of Team RL360 Isle of Man – 5 seconds back – and Ava Oxley-Szilagyi of PH-MAS VCUK a further 13 seconds back.

With the Prologue not opening up any significant gaps, it was again the time bonuses that settled the magnitude of the GC gaps – if not the order of the riders with Surridge leading, Sharpe second – 11 seconds behind the leader – and Oxley-Szilagyi third, 28 seconds off the lead.

The Under 12s rode together and over a single lap – albeit starting at the bottom of the finishing climb, which they tackled twice. There might have been two races running at the same time, but Finlay Pickering of Clifton CC was in a class of his own – opening up a remarkable 1-31 lead over Max Poole of Bike Box Alan/Envelopemaster – who had to work to hold off Joshua Tarling of West Wales Cycle Racing Team who was just a couple of seconds behind.

Once again, the finishing order determined the GC standings with Pickering in yellow for the final stage with a one minute 37 second lead over Poole, with Tarling four seconds further back.

The Girls’ race also saw a dominant race with Isabella Escalera of VC Londres finishing 43 seconds ahead of Fossa Racing’s Libby Smith – who was, in turn, just over a minute up on third placed Imani Pereira-James of Glasgow Riderz. Escalera’s win puts her 53 seconds ahead of Smith overall with Pereira-James 2 minutes and 9 seconds off the yellow jersey.

The Under 8 and Under 10 categories were run as a combined, mass start time trial – just once up the climb – which would have been almost impossible to judge without transponders!

Jed Smithson of Hillingdon Slipstreamers took the Boys Under 10 win to retain his yellow jersey with Ivan Sorby of Team RL360 Isle of Man four seconds behind and Scott Fisher of Furness Future Flyers a second behind him.

The time gaps in the Prologue were slightly bigger for the younger categories and, although the GC order matches the Stage 1 result, Smithson leads by 15 seconds from Sorby with Fisher 15 seconds off the lead.

In the Girls race Awen Roberts of Towy Riders again retained her overall lead – 2 seconds ahead of Sosban Riders’ Bethany Bennett in the stage and 10 seconds overall. Mairi Harrison of Team RL360 Isle of Man took third on the day – 29 seconds adrift – and lies third, 39 seconds behind Roberts.

Cian Howard notched up a home win for Team RL360 Isle of Man in the Under 8 Boys – 20 seconds ahead of Ben Scott of Newcastle Phoenix with his team mate Orry Lund third – four seconds behind Scott. Lund stays second overall, though – 33 seconds behind Howard and one ahead of Scott.

Palmer Park Velo’s Elise Hawkins captured the leader’s jersey in the Under 8 Girls with a 10 second win over Anna Lloyd of Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club with Fearne Bregazzi of Team RL360 Isle of Man third 14 seconds behind the rider from the Reading club. Hawkins leads by 16 seconds going in to the final stage with Bregazzi just a second behind second placed Lloyd.

Results:

Youth A Boys
Stage Result
1 Daniel Tulett Specialized Race Team 36:27
2 Conor Davies Team RL360 Isle Of Man A 36:27
3 Fred Wright VC Londres 36:27
4 Harry Hardcastle Speedflex RT 36:27
5 Thomas Pidcock Speedflex RT 36:27
6 Georg Mew Jensen Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club 36:27

General Classification
1 Daniel Tulett Specialized Race Team 38:08
= Fred Wright VC Londres SAME TIME
3 Conor Davies Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 1 second
4 Harry Hardcastle Speedflex RT at 7 seconds
5 Thomas Pidcock Speedflex RT at 9
5 Georg Mew Jensen Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club at 9

Youth A Girls
Stage Result
1 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team 28:35
2 Ellie Russell Sportcity Velo at 2 seconds
3 Pfeiffer Georgi Giant Cycling Club - Halo Films at 6
4 Emily Tillett Cardiff JIF at 10
5 Jayati Hine RST Racing Team at 13
6 Lucy Horrocks Speedflex RT at 17

General Classification
1 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team 30:21
2 Ellie Russell Sportcity Velo at 11 seconds
3 Pfeiffer Georgi Giant Cycling Club - Halo Films at 14
4 Emily Tillett Cardiff JIF at 23
5 Jayati Hine RST Racing Team at 27
6 Lucy Horrocks Speedflex RT at 37

Youth B Boys
Stage Result
1 Ben Tulett Beeline Bicycles RT 26:27
2 Lewis Askey Lichfield City CC at 1 second
3 Alfred George Discovery Junior Cycling Club at 4 seconds
4 Dylan Westley Paul Milnes - Bradford Olympic RC at 11
5 Zach Bridges Cardiff JIF at 18
6 Adam Scarffe Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 1:13

General Classification
1 Ben Tulett Beeline Bicycles RT 28:12
= Lewis Askey Lichfield City CC SAME TIME
3 Alfred George Discovery Junior Cycling Club at 6 seconds
4 Dylan Westley Paul Milnes - Bradford Olympic RC at 24
5 Zach Bridges Cardiff JIF at 26
6 Adam Scarffe Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 1:31
= Samuel Watson Paul Milnes - Bradford Olympic RC at 1:31

Youth B Girls
Stage Result
1 Becky Surridge VC Londres 28:49
2 Amelia Sharpe Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 5 seconds
3 Ava Oxley-Szilagyi PH-MAS VCUK Women's Cycling Team at 18
4 Elena Smith Fossa Racing at 45
5 Anna Shackley Glasgow Riderz at 54
6 Nicole Clarke Team Red at 1:24

General Classification
1 Becky Surridge VC Londres 30:46
2 Amelia Sharpe Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 11 seconds
3 Ava Oxley-Szilagyi PH-MAS VCUK Women's Cycling Team at 28
4 Elena Smith Fossa Racing at 54
5 Anna Shackley Glasgow Riderz at 1:08
6 Nicole Clarke Team Red at 1:34

Youth C Boys
Stage Result
1 Finlay Pickering Clifton CC 15:03
2 Max Poole Bike Box Alan/Envelopemaster at 1:31
3 Joshua Tarling West Wales Cycle Racing Team at 1:33
4 Callum Reid Rock And Road Cycles at 1:36
5 Ben Askey Lichfield City CC at 1:41
6 Owen Lightfoot Rutland Rouleur at 1:43

General Classification
1 Finlay Pickering Clifton CC 16:59
2 Max Poole Bike Box Alan/Envelopemaster at 1:37
3 Joshua Tarling West Wales Cycle Racing Team at 1:41
4 Callum Reid Rock And Road Cycles at 1:52
5 Ben Askey Lichfield City CC at 1:54
6 Owen Lightfoot Rutland Rouleur at 2:00

Youth C Girls
Stage Result
1 Isabella Escalera VC Londres 17:45
2 Libby Smith Fossa Racing at 43 seconds
3 Imani Pereira-James Glasgow Riderz at 1:46
4 Tilly Percy Salt Ayre Cog Set at 1:59
5 Morven Yeoman East Kilbride Road Club at 2:06
6 Alexa Hawkins Palmer Park Velo RT at 2:45

General Classification
1 Isabella Escalera VC Londres 19:46
2 Libby Smith Fossa Racing at 53 seconds
3 Imani Pereira-James Glasgow Riderz at 2:09
4 Tilly Percy Salt Ayre Cog Set at 2:21
5 Morven Yeoman East Kilbride Road Club at 2:41
6 Alexa Hawkins Palmer Park Velo RT at 3:04

Youth D Boys
Stage Result
1 Jed Smithson Hillingdon Slipstreamers 2:39
2 Ivan Sorby Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 4 seconds
3 Scott Fisher Furness Future Flyers at 5
4 Finlay Tarling West Wales Cycle Racing Team at 11
5 Niall Colquitt Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 11
6 Joseph O'Brien Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 20

General Classification
1 Jed Smithson Hillingdon Slipstreamers 4:50
2 Ivan Sorby Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 15 seconds
3 Scott Fisher Furness Future Flyers at 21
4 Finlay Tarling West Wales Cycle Racing Team at 22
5 Niall Colquitt Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 26
6 Kyle Jones Maindy Flyers Youth CC at 35

Youth D Girls
Stage Result
1 Awen Roberts Towy Riders 3:02
2 Bethany Bennett Sosban Riders at 2 seconds
3 Mairi Harrison Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 29
4 Millie Coleman Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 38
5 Bobbie OBrien Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 47
6 Carys Lloyd Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club at 51

General Classification
1 Awen Roberts Towy Riders 5:23
2 Bethany Bennett Sosban Riders at 10 seconds
3 Mairi Harrison Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 39
4 Millie Coleman Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 59
5 Bobbie OBrien Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 1:01
6 Carys Lloyd Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club at 1:14

Youth E Boys
Stage Result
1 Cian Howard Team RL360 Isle Of Man A 3:32
2 Ben Scott Newcastle Phoenix Cycling Club at 20 seconds
3 Orry Lund Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 24
4 Charlie Scarffe Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 25
5 Michael Postlethwaite Mossley CRT at 27
6 Finn O'Brien Hillingdon Slipstreamers at 50

General Classification
1 Cian Howard Team RL360 Isle Of Man A 6:00
2 Orry Lund Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 33 seconds
3 Ben Scott Newcastle Phoenix Cycling Club at 34
4 Michael Postlethwaite Mossley CRT at 46
5 Charlie Scarffe Team RL360 Isle Of Man A at 48
6 Myles Le Geyt Team RL360 Isle Of Man B at 1:15

Youth E Girls
Stage Result
1 Elise Hawkins Palmer Park Velo RT 5:00
2 Anna Lloyd Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club at 10 seconds
3 Fearne Bregazzi Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 14
4 Ella Harris Halesowen A & CC at 36
5 Danielle Barker Halesowen A & CC at 57

General Classification
1 Elise Hawkins Palmer Park Velo RT 8:08
2 Anna Lloyd Lee Valley Youth Cycling Club at 16 seconds
3 Fearne Bregazzi Team RL360 Isle Of Man at 17
4 Ella Harris Halesowen A & CC at 1:01
5 Danielle Barker Halesowen A & CC at 1:19