The Youth Tour of Scotland 2018

Scott-Orwell Wheelers have two teams off to Scotland this weekend to compete in this tough 4 stage event. Check out the article on the home page for details of the teams and stages.
Youth Tour of Scotland Teams & Info

Team Manager, Gen Sheridan promises to send updates over the weekend which I will share on this thread as I get them.

Apart from the teams we are sending Cycling Ireland is also entering an Irish Girls team which will be managed by our own Orla Hendron.

We wish everyone the best of luck for the weekend, happy, safe and fast cycling.

Follow the Youth Tour of Scotland on their Facebook page - www.facebook.com/YouthTourOfScotland/

Best of luck everyone - Enjoy!

Our Teams for the Youth Tour of Scotland were up bright and early on the ferry looking fit and ready for action!

Stage 1 is over for the girls. A tough morning of racing with a lot of A riders and International teams in the mix. The girls raced 5 laps of the circuit for a total of 33km.

Unfortunately Clara came down on the first corner and needed a replacement helmet so was delayed but she got back up and rode on to finish. Katie suffered with her back today but fought all the way to the line. Chapeau girls - that's determination.

Annie Roche 43rd
Caoimhe May 58th
Katie Reilly 76th
Clara Rock 77th

The Team are sitting in 20th place in the team competition. Word from Scotland is that everyone is in good spirits and ready to tackle Stage 2 in the morning.

Tomorrow there will be 2 stages with the 6.9km TTT in the morning followed by a 34.5km road race for the girls in the afternoon. Get a good nights sleep girls and best of luck tomorrow:)

The boys are now home safe and sound too after a tough morning of racing. It's a top class field racing in Scotland this weekend. There are some good video clips on the Youth Tour of Scotland Twitter feed @YouthTourScot and the racing looks fast and furious!

Andrew Ryan 57th
Ronan O'Connor 64th
Conor Murphy 66th
Dylan Baker 80th

The team is currently in 17th position overall. Tomorrow starts with a 9.6km TTT in the morning followed by 9 laps of a course for a total of 62km. Get some rest tonight guys and best of luck tomorrow!!

Some photos of the two teams on the club Facebook -

The Boys Team

The Girls Team

The 9.6km Team Time Trial Stage 2 took place this morning in glorious sunshine. The girls finished in 20th position and the boys in 17th.

This afternoons stage - Stage 3: St David’s Long circuit road race (lap is 6.9KM)
Girls: 5 laps (34.5km)
Boys: 9 laps(62km)

Some photos from the TT

The second day of racing has come to a close and the results of Stage 3 are now in.
In the boys race:
62. Andrew Ryan
63. Conor Murphy
71. Ronan O'Connor
77. Dylan Baker

The General Classification for the Boys race is now:
63. Andrew Ryan
65. Conor Murphy
69. Ronan O'Connor
78. Dylan Baker

And in the team competition the Scott-Orwell Wheelers are in 19th position

In the Girls Race:
45. Caoimhe May
66. Annie Roche
75. Clara Rock
76. Katie O'Reilly

The General Classification for the girls race the team are in the following positions going into the final stage tomorrow:
57. Caoimhe May
60. Annie Roche
76. Katie O'Reilly
77. Clara Rock

In the Team Competition the Girls have moved up one place to 19th overall.

There are photos of both teams in action today at the TTT and Stage 3 on our Facebook Page. Click on the links -
Photos of the Boys Team 8th April

Photos of the Girls Team 8th April

The final day of racing in Scotland was a Kermesse Stage. I will confess I had to check with Google on what exactly this is - The kermesse is similar to the criterium but differs primarily in total course length and lap length. While a criterium traditionally last 60–90 minutes, a kermesse will often take 120–180 minutes. A single lap in a criterium is usually less than 5 kilometers while the kermesse is usually 5-10 kilometers per lap.

10 laps of the Kermesse was what was in store for the girls and 16 laps for the boys on the final day of racing at the Youth Tour of Scotland with it’s short, narrow circuit. The steep hill, averaging 11% served as an early selection for the peloton but all the leaders stayed up front marking each other. The pace was quick, with the first lap being within seconds of the lap record.

Spectators enjoyed a thrilling race from start to finish. All riders put in an incredible effort as they were cheered up the hill and worked to close gaps on the descents.

The honour of the Peter Clarke award was given to Clara Rock (Scott Orwell Wheelers) who showed brilliant resolve and determination, completing the race despite falling off the pace early on. Well Done Clara!!

Results for the girls:
Stage 4:
49. Annie Roche
59. Caoimhe May
75. Katie Reilly
76. Clara Rock

GC:
57. Caoimhe May
58. Annie Roche
75. Katie Reilly
76. Clara Rock

Team Competition: 20th

The results for the boys:
Stage 4:
53. Ronan O'Connor
56. Conor Murphy
58. Andrew Ryan
72. Dylan Baker

GC:
59. Andrew Ryan
60. Conor Murphy
64. Ronan O'Connor
73. Dylan Baker

Team Competition: 17th overall

PHOTOS:
Stage 4 Girls Race Photos
Stage 4 Boys Race Photos

Congratulations to all the riders and a very special word of thanks to the Team Management who traveled to Scotland with the boys and girls - Gen Sheridan, Gillian Baker and Terry Reilly, without whom we would never have been able to send teams to this fantastic event.

Following on from their great display of teamwork in Scotland the boys and girls teams have pooled together and written a report on the weekend in their own words - which is a lot better than me making it up!

Thanks to everyone who contributed.

YTOS - The Team Perspective