Prologue
Saturday morning’s action started with a new stage – a 3.3km prologue that would see riders contend half of the circuit they would race on later in the afternoon.
The route would see riders climb up to the KOM spot on the circuit, and a sub-par ride could see riders slide out of contention early on.
Youth A
In the Youth A Open field it would be Finlay Storrie (GKR Racing) that would take the Bramblers yellow leaders jersey after a storming ride of 4:55, which would place him three seconds ahead of second place rider Daniel Davies (Maindy Flyers), with Noah Smith (GKR Racing) in third.
Spokes RT’s Karel Pruijn would finish in fifth and take the Braveheart Cycling Fund Blue Jersey as the best Scottish Rider.
Melanie Rowe (Deeside Thistle) would be keen to better her third-place performance from 2024, by taking the victory in the opening prologue in the Youth A Female. Fifth place Olivia Poole (Deeside Thistle) would wear the Blue of the Best Scottish Rider in lieu of Rowe’s stage victory.
Aisling Charlesworth (Fibrax Fenwick Wheelers) would miss out on the race lead by tenths of a second, but wear the Impsport Queen of the Mountains jersey, as a byproduct of her ride. Peggy Knox (Vicious Velo) would be in the Big Bobble Hats Green Jersey because of her third place.
Youth B
Youth B riders would race the Youth Tour of Scotland for the first time as part of the race’s new format, and it would be Daniel Shipton (Manila Cycling) that would wear the first-ever Bramblers Yellow Jersey, as he bested James Cunningham by a second, with Mujtaba Taimur (VC Londres) in third. Josh Stewart (SteppingStanes) would take the Braveheart Blue Jersey after his strong ride to sixth place in the overall.
In the Female field, Harriet Butcher (Lee Valley Velo) would score the narrowest of victories over Annabelle Carter (Manilla Cycling) and Eva Gibson (4T+ Cyclopark) – with just a second separating the top three in the field. Seventh-placed Emma Nicholson (Glasgow Riderz) would come out top Scot.
Stage 1
Youth A Open
Alex Box (Grit Cartel) would take an incredible solo victory in nail-biting fashion on the Queen Stage of the race in the Youth A Open.
Early attacks would not be given any credence by the under-16 field, with Irish riders Rian McCrystal and Caleb McGreevy among the early escape attemptees.
After several attempts to get away,, Box would finally break the elastic on lap seven of eight, with North East-based rider joined by Harrison Hendry (Team HUP).
Perhaps allowed some leniency after relatively modest prologues, they would open up over 20 seconds on the general classification, the duo entering the final 6.6km tour with an advantage of nearly 50 seconds, but a marauding peloton led by Storrie – keen to retain his jersey – were trying to reel the breakaway back in.
Over the top of the final KOM point, Box would force his way clear of his compatriot, with just 35 seconds separating the leader from the bunch.
A frantic and fast descent would commence, resulting in Box holding his advantage to the line to take a well-earned victory. Hendry would just hold on for second place – to take the six bonus seconds ahead of Samuel Price who won the bunch kick for third.
With that Box took the lead in the general classification and holds a very healthy 16 second margin over Storrie, with Davies a furth three seconds back – it will take a breakaway win tomorrow to topple The Grit Cartel man.
Box has already wrapped up the Polka Dot jersey courtesy of taking maximum points on the third and fourth King of the Mountains summits, and he leads the points classification ahead of the final stage, two points up on Rian McCrystal who was active all day. Karel Pruijn (Spokes RT) leads the Scottish classification.
Youth A Female
The seven laps of the Youth A Female race would be less explosive than their counterparts. A measured pace would see the field broadly stay together through the early laps – with only a few riders distanced off the back of the pack.
The sprint primes would start to stretch out the field, with increasing numbers struggling to hold the wheel of the front riders – but no attacks were to follow.
The stage would result in a sprint, with Lucy Ball (Derby Mercury) powering her way through the the final corner and up the straight to take stage victory and 10 bonus seconds. Eloise Ward (Lee Valley Youth) would come home second, with Rose Lewis (Halesowen A & CC) in third.
Rowe would extend her lead in the general classification to five seconds after taking both of the primes, over Charlesworth, with Emer Hevrin leaping into third place.
Rowe holds the lead in all four classifications in fact, but Knox (Polka Dot), Poole (Blue) and Fairbairn (Green) will be wearing the jerseys for Sunday’s final stage.
Youth B Open
The Youth B open race has a similar feel to its predecessor, until a touch of wheels out on course split the race apart.
Best Scottish Rider Josh Stewart (SteppingStanes) would be among those affected by the crash, and would lose time to the leaders – but fortunately would be able to continue.
A small group would stick together at the front, with only ten riders left at the head of the race come the final dash to the line
Jacob Brace (Maindy Flyers) would take the bunch kick to the line from Mujtaba Taimur (VC Londres) in second and a third place for Laurence Denny (Maindy Flyers).
With that Taimur takes the lead ahead of the final crit stage, with Cunningham and Shipton three and six seconds back respectively. Tobias Moffat (VC Londres) secured the mountains classification with a brace of maximum points, whilst Gregor McNaught (Glasgow Riderz) leads the Scottish classification. Courtesy of his stage win, Brace leads the points standings, but the race for the green jersey is wide open.
Youth B Female
The final race of the day would be the most fraught, with a suspension of racing after a crash at the end of first of three tours of the 6.6km route. Racing would get back underway with only one rider unable to continue – to produce a hectic two lap dash to the line.
The race having effectively been reset meant fresh riders, and it would be blown apart on the penultimate lap with seven riders – including the morning’s top three riders – going clear. The group nearly broke apart on the final ascent of the Impsport QOM – but nothing would sperate the race further.
Annie Fearne (Kirklees CA) would take the stage win with a blistering sprint to the line, one that saw three riders take a three second advantage; that would prove important in GC terms, as yellow jersey holder Butcher and Annabelle Carter who was in the polka dots lost three seconds. With the big time bonuses Fearne would take the overall lead, five seconds ahead of second place finisher Eva Gibson, with Butcher and Carter a further seven seconds back.
Carter already has a jersey in the bag; winning both Queen of the Mountain primes, she secures that jersey, with no climbs on Sunday. Fearne leads the points classification, but it’s still all to play for. Top Scot heading into the final day is Emma Nicholson (Glasgow Riderz) in tenth overall.
We hope to see you all in Perth tomorrow for the Perth Grand Prix and final stage of the Youth Tour of Scotland.