Team Microgaming-Isle of Man’s junior squad put in a solid performance in the Tour of the Mendips - the first race in the 2013 British Junior Road Race series. The three-man team was 18-year-old Jake Kelly, a second year junior, and two first year juniors - 16-year-olds Leon Mazzone and Jamie Dudley. The two day event started on Saturday (April 6) morning with 8 laps of a fairly flat and fast 13km circuit, making 104km on the roads around the Chew Valley Lake. Day two was one of the hardest 96km of racing the juniors will do all season, with a total of 932metres of climbing on 4 ascents of the Mendip hills.
It was a bright but cold day that greeted the 80 man field for the first stage, but the guys soon warmed up as the early attacks started before a lap was even completed. A seven man break was reeled in by the bunch after three laps, shortly afterwards the Manx team attempted to get a man away but were unsuccessful and were chased down each time. With three laps to go four riders got away and stayed away to the finish with Zachery May (Wales Junior Development Program) taking the victory, 38 seconds ahead of the bunch which safely contained Kelly in 19th and Mazzone in 29th, and Dudley just 4 seconds off the back of the bunch in 46th. Mazzone also managed to gain a single point and finish 9th in the sprint competition along the way.
It was all to play for on the overcast second day of racing in the Mendip Hills and it wasn’t long before a small break had formed. The Welsh team, defending the yellow jersey, were chasing the remaining three riders from the first move of the day as they reached the first king of the mountains prime at 17km. As the race crested the climb, the depleted peloton was all back together except for one lone rider. Champion Systems and Manx rider Josh Knights attempted to bridge the gap, quickly followed by Team Microgaming’s Mazzone. The pair worked for a short time but Knights faded, leaving Mazzone to time-trial across the gap to Mid Devon CC’s Thomas Baylis. The pair worked well in the strong wind at the top of the Mendip Hills and on the fast decent back to start of the second climb of the day. As Mazzone and Baylis reached the KOM 2 point at 51km, they had a 1min 30sec lead over two chasing riders and just over 2 mins to what was left of the bunch, which still contained both Team Microgaming’s Kelly and Dudley.
As the race reached the bottom of Harptree Hill for the first time the leading duo had been joined by three other riders, and by the KOM 3 point it was James King of Team Sportscover, Tristan Robbins of Cardiff JIF, Thomas Baylis, Joe Kirkham and Leon Mazzone.
On the final ascent King and Robbins had pulled clear of their pursuers and as they approached the finish Robbins accelerated away from King to take a fine win. Team Microgaming’s Kelly, who was able to conserve his energy throughout the day by having a team mate up the road, had a strong finish to take 6th on the stage after nearly two and a half hours in the saddle. Mazzone came home in 24th after a really hard day and Dudley just two places behind him, with only 52 riders completing the gruelling stage.
Overall, Kelly finished equal 6th on GC, Mazzone 22nd, and Dudley 25th. Team Micgrogaming finished a fine 6th in the team competition and Mazzone was 5th in the king of the mountains competition and 9th in the sprint category on the first day. Team Manager Gary Mazzone commented: “Overall it was a great team performance, especially from the first year juniors Leon and Jamie in there first junior outing, and a very mature and measured ride from Jake.”
The Tour of the Mendips is part of the nine round of the highly competitive, National Junior Road Race Series which take place all round the UK. The next event in the series is the Hog Hill GP in Essex on April 21. The Isle of Man will host round five with the Youth/Junior tour on May 3-5.
For more information about Team Microgaming-Isle of Man go to http://www.iomcycling.com/
Photo - The Team Microgaming-Isle of Man junior squad at the Tour of the Mendips - Jake Kelly, Leon Mazzone, and Jamie Dudley.
