Lewis Askey maintained his general classification lead right to the end to win the Isle of Man Junior Tour after Leo Hayter’s stage victory in Sunday’s race finale.
The Zannata Ride Coventry XGear rider began the day in the yellow jersey with a lead of 48 seconds over Oscar Nilsson-Julien (VC Londres) and 53 seconds over Max Walker (Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A).
James Harrison (Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A) and George Wood (Team JRC) launched an attack on the first lap of the 74.8km road race and had a lead of 19 seconds as they crossed the finish line with 10 laps to go. Askey was leading the peloton and was prominent at the front throughout the race.
A lap later Harrison was on the attack with Hayter (VC Londres) but that break was also caught as the British Cycling Junior Road Series geared up for an exciting finale.
Yellow jersey snuffs out the breaks
With eight laps remaining Owain Roberts (Backstedt Cycling), Sam Watson (Fensham Howes/MAS Design), and Matthew Kingston (RST/Cycle Division) fought their way to a 15-second advantage over the main bunch – but the yellow jersey was to the fore again and the breakaways were reeled in.
You'll struggle to find someone who loves the Isle of Man quite like @LewisAskey
— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) May 5, 2019
A tough final day but another winners' jersey is his after a triumphant weekend in the #JuniorRoadSeries
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Oliver Stockwell (Team Ribble) and Nilsson-Julien were the escapees with six laps to go – and when they were caught Watson and Aaron Freeman (Cycling Performance Squad) went clear.
The pair were joined by Alfie George (Discovery Junior Cycling Club), and with just over two laps left they added Tosh Teare (Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A) to their charge with the peloton 16 seconds behind.
At the bell three of the breakaways were back in the peloton which was now chasing lone escapee Alfie George who had a four-second lead.
George was soon caught and on the last lap three riders – Hayter, Adam Scarffe (Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team A), and Mike Schuh (Sleepwell Hotels) – went clear and reached the finish with a seven-second lead over the peloton.
Hayter won the sprint with Scarffe second and Schuh third, but it wasn't enough to stop Askey for continuing a superb Isle of Man record that stretches through his youth and junior days.
Results
Stage 3
General Classification
Gallery
