Podium Success at National Youth Circuit Championships

The Anexo Group Race Team travelled to Oliver’s Mount in Scarborough in July for this year’s National Youth Circuit Championships.

The race saw Elliot Rowe take a well-earned win and Joe Cosgrove take fourth spot on a very tough circuit which was made even tougher by the hot temperatures. It was a great day for our new team and a fantastic overall team performance. 

Elliot said: “Scarborough is one of my favourite courses and with it being the British Champs this season, it was a big target for me. I was unwell at the start of the week so wasn’t sure how I would race but I think a bit of rest helped me out in the end.”

Oliver’s Mount is best known for its lung-busting climb and sweeping descents, with riders reaching speeds of over 80kmph. Before the race you could feel the atmosphere building with over 100 riders taking part from all over the UK. The start of the race was quite chaotic with various riders vying for the best position and a few crashes added to the nerves. The first 20 minutes saw a few optimistic attacks take place which were brought back by the peloton. 

Anexo’s riders stuck to their plan and made sure that they stayed at the front of the race and out of trouble. Unfortunately, Bryn Lawrence got caught up in a crash and had to abandon the race early after looking sharp in the first couple of laps. After the initial chaos, the field started to thin out and each lap saw more and more riders drop back as they couldn’t handle the pace being set.

Towards the middle of the race, the lead group had been whittled down to half a dozen riders who clearly had the finish line in mind as you could see the concentration levels increase. By the time they came round for the next lap the group had reduced down to just three riders with Elliot Rowe keeping the pace steady followed by Seb Grindley, Joe Cosgrove, and a small gap to Fin Tarling. 

For the team to have two riders in the breakaway at this stage of the race was really exciting but nerve racking at the same time. 

Joe said: “It was a tough day out and the heat made it a lot tougher. Every time someone dropped out or fell back, we upped the pace and then kept it steady. It was good to see the group getting smaller and smaller”. 

On the finishing straight it came down to a sprint between four very tired riders. Joe got the jump on the other riders and went for a long sprint hoping to get the win. This time I didn’t work out and he was overtaken by the other riders near the line with Elliot storming through for the first-place position. 

Joe added: “I really enjoyed the race today on such a tough circuit. It was nice to see Elliot win and Anexo get their first National Jersey”. 

The riders all finished within one second of each other, so it was very close with Elliot being the strongest rider on the day. 

Elliot said: “It was a fairly aggressive race and Joe and I got into a breakaway of four which stayed away to the finish. Super pleased to win my first National title!”