FIVE young members representing RL360 Cycling Team attended the round two of the British National Youth Circuit Series in the Youth Tour of Scotland last weekend.

The three-day event involved a 7.8km time trial at Comrie Moor on Friday, a road race at Forteviot on Saturday and a circuit race at Fife Cycle Park on Sunday.

Daniel Minay stole the show in the under-16 boys time trial to take yellow leaders’ jersey, remarkable considering he had sustained injuries in a crash at Builth Wells, Wales the week before. His Youth A team-mate Thomas Hutchison finished a credible 19th from an 80-strong field.

In the under-14s, Poppy Clayton of Laxey began with a strong 11th place finish in the girls’ time trial, with Tommy Bass ninth in the boys’, also recovering from injuries sustained in Wales, and Ciaran Grimshaw 12th (first young rider).

Clayton’s return to form continued in Saturday’s road race as she stuck with the lead peloton throughout the u14 girls’ race on a ‘lumpy’ course, crossing the line seventh.

Bass was never far from the front of the boys’ race, helping control the pace throughout, with Grimshaw making several attempts to protect his team-mate. Bass ultimately sprinted for second place with Grimshaw just outside the top-10 on the same time as the winners.

Bass ended the day second in the green sprint category jersey.

The under-16 boys’ race was a great showcase for the Isle of Man team, with Minay and Hutchinson regularly featuring at the front of the peloton. Such was the form of the pair that Minay retained his yellow leaders’ jersey and Hutchinson won the green sprinters’ jersey – his first jersey at national level.

So it was all to play for on Sunday, when the weather had changed dramatically, strong winds making for extremely tricky conditions.

The u14 boys were first on track first, with Bass and Grimshaw controlling the tempo for long periods. As the race wore on, Bass had taken the lead in the green jersey competition with Grimshaw showing great maturity on the eve of his 13th birthday to protect him.

At the close of the race, a Beeston CC rider made a break with half-a-lap remaining and with the pack not chasing, it came down to a sprint finish for second, with Bass taking the result and Grimshaw crossing the line an excellent ninth.

In doing so, Bass won green and Grimshaw claimed the best young rider award.

In the girls’ u14 event Clayton held onto the lead bunch for much of the race, but with conditions deteriorating, the strong headwinds split the pack and she was left fighting in a bunch for sixth position, eventually losing out to a Southport CC rider. The Manx girl was seventh, placing her eighth overall on general classification.

The u16 boys’ race began in treacherous conditions and the peloton circulated together for long periods.

A Beston rider made a break at mid-distance that stuck, leaving Minay and a Harrogate Nova rider second and third, working hard to close the leader down.

Hutchinson had been well placed in the pack, but feeling unwell he was unable to defend his green jersey and ultimately fell away from the pack.

At the close of the race, Minay’s efforts took their toll and he was pipped for third on the line, finishing fourth. This knocked him down on GC, finishing the event third.