Team Microgaming-Isle of Man rider Jake Kelly leads the overall standings of the British National Junior Road Race Series going into this weekend’s final round. Kelly, who took the lead in the series after winning the Isle of Man Youth and Junior Tour in May, has a slender 18 point advantage over James King (Team Sportscover) and Gabriel Cullaigh (RST Racing Team), who are equal second. This weekend’s Junior Tour of Wales involves five stages over three days (August 24-26). With a maximum of 110 points up for grabs (60points for the overall GC winner plus 10points for the winner of each stage) the series is still wide open.
The tour starts on Saturday morning with an 8km time-trial followed by a 72km road race in the afternoon. Stage three is a 30km closed circuit race on Sunday morning which is followed by a 72km road race in the afternoon. The tour finishes on Bank Holiday Monday with a 100km road race.
Kelly will be part of a four-man Team Microgaming squad in the Junior Tour of Wales along with Nick Corlett, Leon Mazzone and Jamie Dudley. Kelly had a great ride in the Suir Valley 3 Day race in Ireland at the start of the month winning the A3 category and finishing 15th on GC. He also broke the Manx Junior 25 mile TT record on Sunday.
Corlett has concentrated mostly on mountain biking this season and was 10th in the last round of the British XC series on Sunday. Mazzone, the youngest team member at 16, also had a great ride in the Suir Valley 3 Day finishing second in the A3 category and 20th on GC. He also won a bronze medal in the MTB crit at the Island Games. Dudley, the winner of the Royal London 360 cycling league at the NSC as an under-16s rider, has provided some great team support for Team Microgaming in the British National Junior Series.
Only three Manx riders have ever won British National Junior Road Race Series – Team Sky rider Peter Kennaugh, and Steve Joughin and Mike Doyle who went on to race as professionals in the 1980s. For many years the national series was known as the Peter Buckley Series, named in memory of the Manxman who won the Commonwealth Games road race in 1966.
This season Team Microgaming-Isle of Man’s juniors are again being supported by Eurocars which has supplied a team car for the squad. For more information about Team Microgaming-Isle of Man go to http://www.iomcycling.com/.
