Theo Modell (Team Corley Cycles) and Pfeiffer Georgi (Liv CC-Epic Coaching) powered to victory in the National Youth Championships in Cambridgeshire on Saturday afternoon.
The pair were awarded the GHS Trophies after mastering wet and slippery conditions on the N1/10 course near Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, with Modell clocking 20-43 to win by seven seconds while Georgi eased to victory by almost two minutes in the girls title race with a time of 23-01.
Based in Hackney, London, birthday boy Modell just had surface water to contend with as the rain had largely stopped by the time the 17-year-old took to the startline, and his time was good enough for the win while Joe Laverick (HMT Academy with JLT Condor) was runner-up and Cavan Walker (Prologue RT) was third, another 22 seconds back.
“It was pretty touch and go all day and quite wet throughout, but it stayed pretty dry for my run,” said Modell. “
The surface was pretty wet but there wasn’t any rain coming down. The corners were quite slippery and we had to be cautious.
“I’ve never ridden the course before apart from the morning before my ride. It’s a pretty standard course, but the surface was a bit rough in places.
“I was mainly just focused on my own power, but I heard at the start what some of the other riders were doing, so I knew that I would have to do a long 20-minute if I was to be competitive.”
In the girls title race, 16-year-old Bristol-based Georgi faced heavy rain on top of wet roads, and almost came off during her run.
“I got rained on a lot - it chucked it down! My back wheel slipped a bit on the first roundabout, so I knew I had to hold back a bit on the other six,” said Georgi, who will now prepare to ride in the World Championships in Norway next week.
“I’ve done quite well in previous years, so my aim was to win it this year. I’m really pleased to win, but also with such a big margin over Caitlin.
“I had a mechanical on the way to the start which meant my adrenaline was going already by the time I began! My chain got stuck twice between the frame and the chain ring, so I got to the start with just 30 seconds to spare!”
Georgi’s time of 23-01 gave her victory over National 10-mile Champion Caitlin Peters (i-Team CC) by a whopping 1-58, while third fastest of the girls was Toni-Jade Wilkes (Kent Velo RT), another 26 seconds slower.
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