The weather was not kind to the cyclists racing at Carlisle Cycle Circuit’s latest meeting.
Although it stayed dry the wind chill made it feel extremely cold and the riders had to work very hard to battle a strong headwind into the finishing straight.
The youngest riders had to face the worst weather unfortunately with the wind gusting up to 40mph when the Under-8s, Under-10s and Under-12s contested their age groups.
However, it seems these youngsters are made of tough stuff and it didn’t put off Edinburgh’s Zoe Martin and Kirstie Annable of Derwentside CC as they fought their way to the top step of the podium in the Under-8s and Under-10s girls’ races respectively.
The boys’ races were again dominated by the impressive Stewart brothers of Castle Douglas as fresh from their victories in the recent Isle of Man Youth Tour, Mitch, Cobey and Josh all won their respective age groups once more.
The older riders also had a tussle with the wind and there was a strong showing from North East riders with Ben Scott of Racing Metro 15 edging out Derwentside’s Cameron Annable in the Under-16s whilst Wilf Pugh of Allen Valley CC was victorious in the Under-14s boys. Izzy Barbour flew the flag for Scotland, winning the Under-14s girls’ race.
The wind had dropped by the time the adult race began, but as the sun went down it felt even colder and all the riders did well to complete the race.
A strong field of Category 3 and 4 riders rode for 50 minutes, with a good mix of locals and visitors competing.
Two riders broke away from the bunch and there was another Scottish victory as Studio Velo’s Chris Little crossed the line just ahead of his breakaway companion Mark Shaw.
The rest of the bunch approached the line more or less together which led to an exciting sprint for the minor placings. Carlisle Reivers member Ellis Kirkbride has had a strong start to the season and he stole the final spot on the podium from a fast finishing Freddie Dobson of Cogset Papyrus who was also the highest placed Junior rider.
Everyone is hoping for warmer weather when racing resumes this Thursday evening, for adult riders of all categories.
