Wales young riders secured the overall team win at the 2016 School Games, defending their 2015 title at Loughborough University.
Eight Welsh cyclists represented Wales at the annual multi-sport event, which also acts as the Inter Regional Road Championships for British Cycling regions. The event gives riders their first experience of a multi-sport event, with athletes from across the UK competing in twelve different sports.
The athletes attend an opening ceremony for the Games, where each region enters the arena and the Games are officially opened. This year the ceremony was themed around the Pride of Britain and Rio success, with Olympic gold medallists Max Whitlock and Alex Danson welcoming the next generation of sporting stars.
John Holt, Welsh Cycling said: “The School Games is a brilliant opportunity for young cyclists to experience a multi-sport environment without the pressure of having to win medals. There are lots of workshops, from nutrition to anti-doping for the riders to learn whilst they are competing which adds to the overall experience.
The riders enjoy mixing with athletes from other sports, eating in the food hall and using the athletes lounge. They learnt a lot about athlete conduct, being independent and to perform together as a team; coming away with the team win was a bonus.”
Day one of competition saw Wales Girls and Boys compete in the Team Time Trial and Team Relay. There were mixed fortunes in the Team Time Trial, despite a puncture in the first lap of the two lap circuit. The team of boys managed to finish fourth overall. The girls were down to three riders after the first lap, but the riders pulled it back and finished second, just 0.118 behind East Midlands.
The Team Skills Relay tested the riders’ skills on the bike, as well as their speed. On the course, riders had to put a rain cape on and zip it up, change their wheel and take a bottle from the feed zone and place in to their cage, before tagging in the next rider.
Day two saw the street sprints competition take place. There were strong performances from both the boys and girls teams, despite crashes. Overall, both the girls and boys finished top of the street sprint team results.
The final day of competition culminated in the road race at Mallory Park. The circuit offered a smooth surface, with a climb. The weather conditions meant it was windy, which allowed riders to gather speed through the chicanes but there was a headwind on the finishing straight.
Together, the girls worked well. All four riders finished in the top 15 which was enough for them to finish on top of the team results. The boys also performed well topping the boys team competition. Wales won the overall School Games cycling competition, which combines the boys and girls results across the three days of competition.
The closing ceremony on Sunday evening brought all the sports together, and rounded off a successful event for Wales.
