Finn Fisher-Black (WWV Junioren) bridged the gap from the chasing peloton with 15 kilometres remaining to win stage two of the Kingdom Junior Classic and become the overall champion after two days of racing in Fife.

A five-man breakaway went on the Cadgers Summit loop of the 100 kilometre race and managed to control the pace to keep them out front and in sight of the finish line, only to be denied the win by Fisher-Black.

The peloton came within 15 seconds of the leading riders at one point only to sit up and play cat and mouse on the final circuit heading for home.

It was at this point that two riders managed to bridge the gap, firstly Adam Mitchell from Spokes Racing, then Fisher-Black with less than 10 kilometres remaining.

Stage 1 winner Thomas Gloag (VC Londres) fought bravely to retain his overall lead as the peloton wound up momentum towards the line but wasn’t quite enough to hold the yellow jersey.

Game of cat and mouse

Gloag finished 11th on the day and second overall behind the New Zealander, while Matt Kingston (RST/ Cycles Division RT) finished just off the podium after instigating the five-man breakaway

Kingston said: “I was quite aggressive from the start. I had punctured yesterday, so I wanted to come back and get a good result. Me and Bryn Davies (Welsh Cycling) went with around 15km in and we were keeping good pace.

“Three more riders came across the first King of the Mountain (KOM) and made a group of five. We kept a good constant pace, didn’t push too much on the climbs – just kept it nice.

“We had about a minute and half at one point on the bunch and suddenly it came down to around 20s. We were thinking they would easily catch up but they sat-up.

There were quite a few twisty roads which helped us stay away and then about 10km to go we got caught by [Finn Fisher-Black] who eventually won.”

Paige clinches second spot

Charles Paige (Green Jersey RT) finished second on stage two, seconds down, and sixth on General Classification, said: “Just after the first KOM about 25k in, three of us went across just over the top of the KOM and eventually caught the leading two riders near the Feed Zone.

“We were working really well together and on the second KOM the gap dropped to about 10s. We could see them about 50m behind but they sat-up and it was a big game of cat and mouse.”

Bryn Davis (Welsh Cycling) finished fifth on stage two and said: “From the start it was pretty controlled. A few people were nipping off the front but nothing major.

“About 10k in Matt Kingston went hard and I chased after him. There was a reasonable gap and he looked back and saw me – eased up a bit – and we worked together really well.

We controlled it well but the last KOM they managed to bring it down to 24s. I thought we were going to get caught but we just managed to hang on.”

Results

Stage 2 Results

1. Finn Fisher-Black (WWV Junioren) 02:18:52
2. Charles Paige (Green Jersey RT) 02:18:54
3. Adam Mitchell (Spokes Racing Team) 02:18:56
4. Matthew Kingston (RST/Cycle Division Racing Team) 02:18:56
5. Bryn Davies (Welsh Cycling) 02:19:06

Final General Classification

1. Finn Fisher-Black (WWV Junioren) 05:03:38
2. Thomas Gloag (VC Londres) 05:03:56
3. Adam Mitchell (Spokes Racing Team) 05:04:03
4. George Mills-Keeling (Cycle Club Bridgnorth RWG) 05:04:04
5. Max Walker (Equiom IOM Junior Cycling Team) 05:04:22