I’m delighted to have been selected for the Cycling Ulster team for the North West Youth Tour. It feels like all the hard work and training I’ve put in has paid off, and I can’t wait to represent my team and region.

Stage1 was a short prologue along the promenade of Morecambe Bay. It was very windy as it was along the coast. I didn’t have good legs on the day and finished down the results.

The real racing started today for stage2. A super hilly stage with 8 ascents of the climb. There was a high pace set for the first few laps and riders were getting shelled out everywhere. My teammate Adam won the stage and moved into 2nd on GC.

Now for the final day. With stage3 being a tight and fast criterium it suited us boys. We had plan to work together and deliver Adam into the finish to hopefully get him the GC win. We all worked together throughout the race but with 3 laps to go we were moving to the front ready to set up the finish and there was a huge crash within the bunch. The race was then neutralised and the stage was then abandoned.

Sad way to end the tour with the stage being cancelled but with the serious crash it was the right decision. A big thanks to Cycling Ulster for the weekend away it was a great experience which I hope to build on for next year when I can come back and aim for a GC result myself as I will be a 2nd year u16.