James Armstrong rides off the front of the early breakaway in the junior road race at the National Road Championships on his way to silver (Photo: Toby Watson)
James Armstrong (U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant) came away from the National Road Championships with silver medals in both the TT and road race.
In the junior TT he was just six seconds down on champion Jack Lawless (Gorey CC), having gained on the Wexford rider in the second half of the race. And in the road race, Armstrong came off second best in a three-up sprint for the title, won by Freddie Winkley (Harrogate Nova Race Team) .
Now with the Junior Tour of Ireland to come, where he will make his debut for Team Ireland, he is stringing together some nice achievements ion the bike.
But his results at the Nationals in Cong, Co Mayo, were tinged with a sense of what might have been.
"In the road race, obviously you never know who's going to win,” Armstrong, an 18-year-old from Dromara, Co Down, told stickybottle.
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“But in the TT, I was a wee bit disappointed because it was only six seconds in the end. But it was a decent weekend, I'm happy with it."
Armstrong in the day's early breakaway with John O'Mahony of Newcastle West CC, Tom Hughes of Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospatial and George Sevastopulo of Sundrive Track Team (Photo: Toby Watson)
Armstrong was one of the heroes of the day at last year's Nationals road race; the first year junior on the attack for so long but just losing contact with winner and runner-up, Conor Murphy and Rory Condon, on the last series of climbs.
After being distanced, he was 3rd on the road for a long time but was then caught and spat out by Darragh Byrne and Matthew Walls before an eventual 6th place finish in Co Meath.
Though he was undoubtedly strong last year, when riding for VC Glendale, he has definitely developed significantly over the past 12 months. He said he really felt he had a strong kick on the hard championship course on Saturday, adding his fuelling had also gone well.
Now competing with French team, U19 Academy Région Sud powered by Giant, Armstrong has been well able to mix it with the best seniors in the heat of battle. And that progress was reflected in both his results last weekend, but also in the manner he aggressively took on the road race.
He was away early in the contest in a four-man move, alongside John O'Mahony (Newcastle West CC), Tom Hughes (Kilcullen Cycling Club Murphy Geospatial) and George Sevastopulo (Sundrive Track Team).
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Junior rider Armstrong was one of the men of the recent elite National Criterium Chmapionships, going on the attack early and splitting the race (Photo: Toby Watson)
They remained clear for about 40km, before being caught and then being replaced by another breakaway; Hughes there again, with team mate Conor Regan, Adam Matthews (Banbridge CC) and Darragh Byrne (Asvillemur Cyclisme).
However, they too were caught and it was only with about 12km to go that the winning move went, with a trio of riders going to the line in a three-up sprint. Freddie Winkley (Harrogate Nova Race Team) won the title from Armstrong and Hugh Og Mulhearne (Asvillemur Cyclisme).
In his winner's interview, Winkley said he felt the trio were the strongest riders in the race. And Armstrong said he felt he had ridden very well, after a recent lift in form.
"I finished my A Levels in May-June and I think since then even I've improved a decent bit," he said. "And now for the rest of the season, with the Junior Tour up next, that should really be good.”
So far this season he has raced two UCI-ranked events with his French team - two one-day races in Italy on consecutive days at the end of April.
"It was a real eye-opener," he said. "But I think now, going back over, having done a lot more training and with the exams done, I think I could do a lot better.
"I will hopefully now get out to France and do a couple of races, in maybe a month or so. I'd like to get more experience in the bigger bunch in France. It's a lot easier in a bunch here, where you might have 30 riders as opposed to 130 over there."
He added he may also be riding the Dutch UCI-ranked Dutch stage race, Watersley Junior Challenge (2.1), at the end of this month.
"Then there's maybe the Worlds, but obviously we'd need to see how that goes (with team selection)," he said
So far this year, Armstrong has raced very well across a variety of events; silver medals in both the road race and the TT at the Nationals pointing to his versatility.
He has also placed 2nd in the elite Ulster Criterium Championships and 4th at the elite National Criterium Championships in Dublin in May, having split the field early in the race.
Armstrong said while he was looking forward to riding on the Irish team for the Junior Tour of Ireland, he would need to marry his ambitions with those of the team and was unsure, as of yet, how things would unfold.
But on the basis of the evidence so far, and as he appears to be building condition through the season, he looks like one to watch next week.
