Team Royal London 360 Isle of Man made a very successful trip to the North West Region Youth Cycling Championships at Victoria Park in Southport last Saturday, bagging an impressive total of three gold, three silver and four bronze medals. A large squad of 38 RL 360 riders contested the event, which attracted more than100 of the regions top young cyclists. Percy Hampton got the team off to a great start by taking the gold medal in the under 8's category. Percy caught and passed early escapee Ben Peatfield (Bolton Hot Wheelers) to score a comfortable win, with Jake Wilson just behind in the bronze medal position. Jonty Bregazzi was 4th, Zac Walker 5th, Josh & Cameron Dudley 7th and 8th respectively, Darcy Cain (the only girl in the race) 10th and Cameron Hawes 11th. A determined Charlie Gibson gained the team's second gold medal in the under 10's age group. A group of five riders, including Charlie, got away on the first lap and stayed clear to the finish. In the final sprint for the line Charlie just got the better of Jonny Bouch (Border City Wheelers) to secure the victory by the narrowest of margins. Max Walker was the next best RL360 rider in 6th place, followed by Aaron Lund, Conor Gelling, William Corkill, Juan Kneen and Tosh Teare in 7th to 11th positions. In the girls' race Chloe Crellin and Blae Cain filled the silver and bronze medal positions behind Anna Armstrong of the Border City Wheelers. Emma Draper was 4th and Charlie Moss 5th. Conor Davies was the most aggressive rider in the under 12's event. Aided by some great team work from Will Draper and Sam Batey, Conor's numerous attempts to get away almost paid off, but in the end he had to settle for the bronze medal behind Simon Howlett and Joe Armstrong (both Border City Wheelers). Draper, who recovered from a crash in the early stages, was a good 5th, Sam Batey 7th and Alex Cain 12th. The fast improving Eleanor Davies rode strongly in the now very wet conditions to grab gold in the under 12 girls ahead of Corrine Side (Bolton Hot Wheelers) and Georgia Savory (CS Pendle). In the under 14 boys class a large group containing RL360 riders Matthew Draper, Owen Dudley, Nathan Draper, Michael Moss and Joseph Haddock broke away at the start. On the last lap Matthew Draper attacked and set a fast pace at the head of the field. With the chequered flag in sight it looked like the young Manxman was about to be swallowed up by the chasing pack, but he dug deep and hung on for a well deserved silver medal behind Tom Rotherham of the Sport City Velo club. Nathan Draper was 4th, Owen Dudley 7th, Joseph Haddock 11th, Michael Moss 12th, Dan Watterson 18th and Nathan Hinks 20th. The under 14 and under 16 girls raced together, with Breeshey Cain riding well for the bronze medal in the U/14's ahead of team mates Phoebe Ferguson and Elizabeth Holden. In the older age group Sophie Black was second behind Jessica Wilkinson (Birkenhead NE). Continuing the team's success of placing at least one rider on the podium in each race, Jamie Dudley won the silver medal in the under 16 boys 45 lapper. Jamie and later Ashley Clitheroe bridged the gap to frontrunners Fabio Close (Velo City RT) and Jack Sadler (Herbal Life/ Wheelbase/ Gore). Fabio dropped out of contention when he punctured in the closing stages leaving Sadler to take the sprint from Dudley and Clitheroe. Leon Mazzone and Matthew Davies both rode well to finish seventh and tenth in the main chasing group. ENDS