Dion McCarthy (on left, green helmet) takes a stage of the Northwest International Youth Tour in the UK at the weekend
It was another memorable weekend at the Northwest International Youth Tour in the UK, with some of Ireland’s brightest young cycling stars proving more than a match for their British counterparts.
Five riders in total made the trip to England for the three-day racing festival with Dion and Jack McCarthy joined by the Birchalls; Eoin, Emily and Laura.
Pride of place goes to 14-year-old Dion McCarthy who took a stage win against riders older and more experienced than him. McCarthy – racing U16 this year - didn’t let a bad crash deter him over the weekend and as well as that stage win, he was second on the final stage and notched third on the final podium at six seconds.
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Though not quite the all-conquering display of last year when he won four stages in the U14 event and only lost the yellow jersey when a two-man group clipped off on the final day and got two minutes, this year’s performance was still a really strong one.
Several of those he faced have a near two-year age advantage on him, with some entering the junior ranks next year. And Joe Holt who won the overall is mentored by Mark Cavendish.
The opening stage on Saturday was a short time trial around the Preston University Campus Arena and Holt went into yellow courtesy of his time of 2.03 seconds, beating the 11-year record held by his mentor Mark Cavendish by one second.
McCarthy clocked 2.10, while the only other Irish rider to race that day was Emily Birchall (U13) clocking 2:21.
Disaster struck Jack McCarthy and Eoin Birchall as they were forced to abandon due to an illness they picked up. That left just three of the five for the remaining two days but on Saturday there was still the matter of a circuit race.
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Dion McCarthy was boxed in at the finish as Holt won and stretched his lead to six seconds. Emily Birchall was again active throughout her race and finished in the top 10. She was eighth on GC after the opening two stages while her sister Laura was also in the front group which finished in a bunch sprint.
Sunday’s third stage was another aggressive circuit race with Dion McCarthy notching a great win following a chaotic sprint finish and with time bonuses for stage winners he moved up to third overall.
Emily Birchall – who blitzed the opposition to win the Youth Tour of Scotland last month - wasn’t getting things her own way this time around and she had to bow to superior opposition on this occasion as Grace Garner (RST Trigon) won the Sunday race and took over at the top of the GC.
Laura Birchall suffered the misfortune of being caught behind a crash in her race which saw just a few seconds separate the top placed riders ahead of the final day.
Day three was another circuit race, this time on the Blackpool promenade where stage 4 of the Tour of Britain finished last year.
McCarthy was still in the hunt for the overall as he trailed by just a few seconds from Joe Holt. The 80 starters they were down to 15 after an hour of racing in the 56 kilometre, 28 lap, stage.
Though one rider escaped with a few laps to go to take the stage win, McCarthy led in the bunch for second to cement his third place on the podium.
Both Emily and Laura Birchall finished in the bunch, with Emily taking 19th overall and Laura gaining invaluable experience in what was one of her first major stage races abroad.
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