Karl Baillie made the transition from national youth circuit racing to national junior road racing very successfully this weekend at the Cadence Junior Road Race near Brecon in Wales. It took Karl a couple of laps to get used to the differences such as the neutralised start, taking on gels and lead cars etc. Eventually Karl’s confidence grew as he moved through the bunch of over 90 riders and remained active at the front despite the ever changing conditions.
Team Haribo Beacon dictated the race and would eventually take the top 3 steps on the podium. James Shaw counter attacked halfway through the 70 mile race and went on to win solo. Unfortunatley Karl was too far back going up the climb when a chase group formed. Karl got away with another rider with just under 3 laps to go and gradually picked off riders from the chase group to finish at the top of the kilometre climb in an excellent 4th place.
Photo courtesy of Guy Swarbrick British Cycling
