2009 British Junior Road Race Champs
June 27, 2009; Abergavenny (Wales);Report and Pictures: Larry Hickmott
The winner of the National Junior Men's Road Race championship for 2009 was George Atkins who triumphed in Abergavenny after 68 miles of hard and fast racing in the countryside around the Welsh town.
Report
Podium for the Junior road race championship: Tim Kennaugh, George Atkins and Joe Perrett.
With three national Road titles to be decided over the weekend, first up were the Junior men. In an exciting finish, George Atkins was crowned the British Junior Road Race champion after he defeated Tim Kennaugh in a two up sprint.
Kennaugh had led the race alone for 20 or so miles but Atkins and Joe Perret got within touching distance of him with five miles to go. As Atkins descended like a demon, Perret was unable to spin the pedals fast enough and lost contact. Meanwhile Kennaugh was doing his best to resist being caught for as long as he could but for the second week in a row, he was narrowly defeated in a sprint.
Post race reactions:
George Atkins: "Relief! I really needed a big result and today everything fell into place. This is for sure my biggest win to-date. Early on I rode really conservative which I don't do that often. I saved myself and used what I had when I needed to. I knew I was quicker in the sprint."
On how he felt trapped in the bunch with the break up the road: "I had itchy feet. Tim is a great rider and when he gets up the road, you have to be worried. I didn't know how much damage we could do on the final climb but I got away with Joe and we really got shifting. It was great."
"It was quite surprising that when I was away with Joe, some of his team were chasing, which felt frustrating for me as well. We really committed though and I got across." (Joe then added that he had blown, unable to keep up with George).
Tim Kennaugh: "I saw them coming up and got a time check at 25 seconds so I eased off the gas halfway up the climb and pressed on over the top and down the descent where George was only 25 yards behind me. I just sat on him when he got to me and then tried to sprint but by then, my legs had gone."
"I always create the moves! The other lads were doing as much as they could (in the chase group) but as it showed when we caught the leaders, as soon as we hit the climbs, they went. I then attacked Jon Mould (who was one of the original leaders with Dan Mclay) because I thought, if I am on my own, I can concentrate on getting the effort out rather than worrying about him jumping me. The course was good although I could have done without that big descent!"
Joe Perrett: "On the descent, George was really really hammering it and my legs just weren't good enough and it sapped all the energy out of me so when it came to the final climb he just rode off. I'm pretty pleased with the result though. I was 5th last year so a third is an improvement."
"The team sponsors have been really helpful to me this year and I'd like to thank them all. At one stage, when the break was away, we got all the riders in the team to the front and told them to hammer it and they all tried as hard as they could but no one else wanted to help so we thought what is the point in us pushing ourselves when the rest are taking the armchair ride. So I thought I'm going to wait for the climb and attack."
Photo Report of the action picture-by-picture -- Thanks to Neil Mckenzie (NEG pilot) for his help in getting these photos.
The Junior road race rolls out of Abergavenny
A Lotto rider has a dig very early on.
A group of four escape early on during the first lap of the circuit.
First break: The riders in this group were Andrew Miles, Jack Waller, Jamie Shirlaw and Dan McLay.
Lewis Balycki goes it alone to chase the break.
Sandy King strings the field out chasing the break.
Jon Mould leads a chase of the break
Mould gets to the break but his co-chaser is struggling to make contact
Left: While Jon Mould and Dan McLay power on at the front, (right) Tim Kennaugh and two companions chase them down.
The field is lined out behind as the chase gets gradually quicker and quicker.
Glendene CC riders get to the front to try and reduce the lead of the break
Kennaugh and his co-chasers make contact with Mould and Mclay.
But as the road goes up, Kennaugh's climbing is too much for Dan Mclay
The peloton fragmenting as a Wallis rider and Sam Harrison pile on the pressure at the front.
Soon, Mould is going backwards as Kennaugh goes it alone.
Tim Kennaugh, still 20 miles from the finish, is all alone and riding to try and win his first Junior road title.
A chase however fast gathers pace, very fast, and Joe Perrett and George Atkins hunt down the Isle of Man rider.
After dropping Joe Perrett which is no mean feat, George Atkins chases down Tim Kennaugh
Both tuck down low on the descent into Abergavenny with only a few miles to go and the title at stake.
... and by George, it's Atkins who has the best sprint to take the title and isn't he happy!
Simon Yates leads the bunch over the line ahead of his brother Adam (below).
Tim Kennaugh, George Atkins and Joe Perrett
Result (thanks to John Pearson)
1 George Atkins Websters Cycles.co.uk
2 Timothy Kennaugh Team Manx Telecom
3 Joseph Perrett Glendene CC / Bike Trax
4 Simon Yates Maxgear RT
5 Adam Yates Maxgear RT
6 Peter Dibben Hargroves Cycles
7 Samuel Harrison Planet X
8 Conor Dunne Hemel Hempstead CC
9 Alexander Murison Glendene CC / Bike Trax
10 Dominic Schils Lotto Olympia Team Interbike
11 Jonathan Mould www.Agiskovinner.com 0
12 Jamie Rogers Scunthorpe Polytechnic CC
13 Felix English Team Corridori
14 Tom Gosbee Team Welwyn
15 Ewen McDonald Epic Cycles-Viner RT
16 Jake Hales Lotto Olympia Team Interbike
17 Joshua Edmondson Glendene CC / Bike Trax
18 Thomas Moses Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
19 Daniel Arblaster Guernsey Velo Development Team LCF Rothschild Group
20 David Nichols Glendene CC / Bike Trax
21 Robert Hassan
22 Laurie Brooking Buxton CC/Sett Valley Cycles
23 John Cooper Wolverhampton Whls
24 Matthew Gee Raleigh Avanti Racing Team
25 Matthew Woods Westbrook Cycles - Team Scott
26 Perry Bowater CC Giro
27 Christopher Nicholson Team Manx Telecom
28 Matthew Bailey Halesowen A & CC
29 Jack Salt Team Pedal Power - Loughborough
30 Alexander King Twickenham CC
31 Thomas Lowe Go Sports Spex RT
32 Joshua Hunt Mid Devon CC
33 Martin Woffindin Sport City Velo
34 Jake Tanner Sportscover - Spiuk - JE James
35 Rowan Marshall Bynea CC
36 Jonathan Knox Herbalife/Wheelbase.co.uk
37 Michael Gregg Team Probikekit.com
38 Christopher Whorrall Team Manx Telecom
39 James Smith Discovery Junior Cycling Club
40 Daniel Mclay Univega-Kalkhoff Team (UK Team)
41 James Lowsley-Williams
42 Ewan Sewell Team Chevin Bang & Olufsen
43 Lewis Balyckyi Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
44 Jamie Shirlaw Liverpool Century RC
45 James Dunlop Herbalife/Wheelbase.co.uk
46 Paul Fostun Raleigh Avanti Racing Team
47 Matthew Hamilton Discovery Junior Cycling Club
48 Benjamin Last Sportscover - Spiuk - JE James
49 Joe Charley Stourbridge Velo
50 Samuel Deakin Somerset RC - Bicycle Chain
51 Max Webber Behind The Bikeshed
52 Calum McLean Rock And Road Cycles
53 Magnus Davidson
54 Robert Evans
55 Andrew Hargroves Hargroves Cycles
56 Rob Graham Lotto Olympia Team Interbike
57 Christopher Sherriffs Teamwallis CHH Racing Team
58 Benjamin Goddard Tunstall Whls CC
59 Cameron Carthew In Gear Cycling Development Squad
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