The second Manchester Youth Cup (MYC) event was successfully delivered at The National Cycling Centre on Sunday 10th July.
A total of 54 competitors took part, including 13 new riders, nominated from the recent Manchester Schools Track Championships and Community sessions. The MYC event once again had a team format, with each team consisting of Manchester based and North West regional standard riders from the U16, U14, U12 age groups and the MSTC sessions. Coaches from the National Cycling Centre and volunteers from local clubs Eastland's Velo and Mossley CRT were assisted by representatives from clubs across the North West region including Bolton Hot Wheels, Team Royal London 360 (IOM), Border City Wheelers and Team Velocity 3-in-1.
Several young volunteers were involved at the event - at signing on, with event support and also as team managers at the event. This is encouraging for the future as the opportunity to be involved at this event is also helping to develop the next generation of coaches and event organisers.
The team format, which was made possible due to the loan of racing jerseys from the Revolution Series, enabled the riders to easily identify their team mates on the track and there was a great deal of team support and encouragement from the track centre, which helped to create a very friendly atmosphere at the event. New riders from the MSTC were involved in events on and off the track and all learned how to ride the rollers with guidance from their team managers and teammates.
There was some fantastic racing at the event, with riders clearly enjoying the opportunity to race in a variety of events at the National Cycling Centre. The feedback from existing riders, parents and the MSTC riders from both the April and July events has been very positive. There is no doubt that everyone benefited from the experience, whether it was riders competing for the first time or established competitors preparing for the Youth and Junior National Championships which will take place at the venue next month.
Thanks go to the Track World Cup stakeholders for funding the MYC events. There was a strong connection to the Track World Cup at this event, with all volunteers being supplied with event clothing from the Track World Cup. The team of timing box officials and commissaires responsible for the event were all involved at the Track World Cup and the events were delivered in line with the Track World Cup regulations.
