Jamie Whitcher (BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE) won the 360cycling Tour of the North West, the final round of the Under-23 Open National Road Series, thanks to a storming stage 3 time trial win. Cycling Sheffield’s James Hartley was the stage 2 victor, while Rowan Baker finished second overall to seal the Series win.

Read the stage 1 report here.

Report

Stage 2

James Hartley made up for Cycling Sheffield’s disappointment at missing out on a stage 1 win as he emerged victorious in stage 2 of the 360cycling Tour of the Northwest. The stage, set on the short, fast, and flat 16km Caithwaite circuit, comprised five laps totaling an 80km race distance.

The race began with a compact field of 29 riders, with Sam Nisbet (Reflex Racing) looking to defend his precarious race lead, positioned on the same time as Cycling Sheffield’s David Hird and Max Krasinski, and just 14 seconds ahead of another eight riders.

The peloton, thanks primarily to the work of teams like Cycling Sheffield and Saint Piran, ensured that any early attempts to break away were quickly neutralised. Notably, TT specialist Jamie Whitcher (BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE) made several early attempts to split the race, initially succeeding but ultimately being reeled back in by the relentless efforts of Rowan Baker and James Wordsworth.

Midway through the race, Ryan Williams (HUUB BCC Race Team) made a bold solo attempt, managing to gain a 30-second advantage over the peloton. However, the bunch, demonstrating coordinated effort, brought Williams back into the fold, leaving him visibly exhausted.

As the race progressed towards its final stages, the tempo and tactics began to shift. With 1.5 laps remaining, James Hartley made his decisive move. Capitalising on a brief lull in the peloton’s pace, he and Zak Machin of HUUB BCC Race Team gently rolled off the front. Taking advantage of the tailwind and the downhill stretch of the back straight, Hartley and Machin quickly built a significant gap.

As they approached the final half-lap, race officials indicated that the duo was three minutes ahead of the main bunch, a comfortable lead that seemed insurmountable. In the final uphill section before the left-hand turn into the finish, Machin attempted a last-ditch attack. However, Hartley, showcasing his tactical acumen and sprinting prowess, remained composed.

Leading into the final corner, Hartley positioned himself perfectly behind Machin. In a well-timed sprint, he surged past Machin, securing a clear victory.

Behind Hartley, a GC shake-up was taking place. Ben Pierce (Bridgnorth CC) finished third at the front of a small group of riders that had made it clear of the peloton in the closing stages. The move earned Pierce and co. 51 seconds over the bunch, enough to move Pierce into the overall lead. Krasinski, meanwhile, had finished four seconds ahead of the bunch. The result was that Pierce led the GC standings, leading Krasinski by 27 seconds, with Hird and Nisbet on 31 seconds. Pre-race favourites Rowan Baker and Dylan Hicks (Saint Piran), Archie Peet (Reflex Racing, and Jamie Whitcher (BmthCycleworks VitecFire Ford CE) were all 45 seconds back.

Stage 3

Jamie Whitcher delivered an impeccable performance to win the 16km time trial on the Caithwaite circuit, the same course used for stage 2. Whitcher’s victory in Stage 3 not only marked his dominance in the time trial discipline but also secured his overall win in the race.

Heavy rain in the afternoon made for difficult time trialling conditions, standing water a feature on part of the course. With time trial bikes allowed in this final stage, gaps were always likely to be large, especially as not all riders had time trial bikes to use, and so it proved.

Whitcher clocked an impressive 00:19:40, averaging a speed of 30.51 km/h, showcasing his superior form and time-trialing prowess. His performance was unmatched on the day, as he managed to carve out a significant lead over his closest competitors.

Rowan Baker of Saint Piran finished second with a time of 00:19:54, 14 seconds adrift of Whitcher. Baker’s solid ride earned him a well-deserved second place overall.

Joe Schillabeer from Shibden-A Fawcett claimed the third spot on the podium with a time of 00:20:20, 40 seconds behind Whitcher. Schillabeer’s effort propelled him to third overall too.

Further down the leaderboard, David Hird of Cycling Sheffield, who was previously tied third on GC, took fifth place at 00:21:00. Leader after stage 2, Ben Pierce, finished 9th, 1:56 down on Baker.

Whitcher’s victory in the time trial not only underscored his individual talent but also capped off a successful campaign in the Tour of the North West.

“It was always my plan to leave it down to the TT, but at the same time, I contributed heavily to making the road stages hard to make sure everyone was fatigued for it,” Whitcher told The British Continental after the stage. “If you ride your TT bike enough then it makes a big difference. I’ve always been really comfy on my TT bike so was pretty confident going into it.”

Whitcher will take great confidence from his win, just days after leaving the Spirit TBW Stuart Hall team, a move which resulted in him missing the Rás Tailteann. He now has his sights set on the under-23 time trial at the National Road Championships next month, saying, “I think it sets me in a good place ahead of TT champs.”

Final Series standings

Rowan Baker finished four points above erstwhile Series leader Archie Peet to become the 2024 Under-23 Open National Road Series champion.

The overall Series winner is the rider who gains the highest total number of points across the Series with their best 3 out of 4 rounds counting. Baker never finished lower than fourth in his three rounds, earning him victory over Peet, despite Peet’s round 2 win.

David Hird finished third, with Hicks fourth.

Pos	Rider	Team	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Best 3 of 4
1	Rowan Baker	Saint Piran	28	24		28	80	80
2	Archie Peet	Reflex Racing	20	30	26	16	92	76
3	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	26		22	24	72	72
4	Dylan Hicks	Saint Piran	30	20		18	68	68
5	Ben Pierce	Bridgnorth Cycling Club		28	8	22	58	58
6	William Truelove	THRIVA-SRCT		18	28		46	46
7	Joseph Smith	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	7	9	24		40	40
8	Samuel Nisbet	Reflex Racing	9		18	10	37	37
9	Luke Brennan	HUUB BCC Race Team	24	10	1		35	35
10	Benjamin Tuchner	TEKKERZ CC	18	14			32	32

Results

Stage 2

Pos	#	Name	Team	Time	Gap
1	12	James Hartley	Cycling Sheffield	01:52:11
2	34	Zak Machin	HUUB BCC Race Team	01:52:12	+0:01
3	23	Ben Pierce	Bridgnorth Cycling Club	01:54:12	+2:01
4	25	Cai Curtis-Roberts	360cycling	01:54:12	+2:01
5	21	Anthony Morris	Loughborough Students CC	01:54:12	+2:01
6	26	Ryan Williams	HUUB BCC Race Team	01:54:12	+2:01
7	4	Jake Edwards	Cog Set Papyrus Racing Club	01:54:59	+2:48
8	28	Max Krasinski	Cycling Sheffield	01:54:59	+2:48
9	27	John Bardsley	360cycling	01:55:03	+2:52
10	33	Archie Peet	Reflex Racing	01:55:03	+2:52
11	19	Jamie Whitcher	BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE	01:55:03	+2:52
12	13	George Stephen	HUUB BCC Race Team	01:55:03	+2:52
13	24	George Safranauskas	HIVE Racing	01:55:03	+2:52
14	31	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	01:55:03	+2:52
15	29	James Wordsworth	Cycling Sheffield	01:55:03	+2:52
16	11	Luke Harris	Halesowen A & CC	01:55:03	+2:52
17	1	Rowan Baker	Saint Piran	01:55:03	+2:52
18	2	Sam Chaplin	Cycling Sheffield	01:55:03	+2:52
19	6	Benjamin Flatau	HUUB BCC Race Team	01:55:03	+2:52
20	5	Matthew Ellmore	Prologue Racing Team	01:55:03	+2:52
21	8	Thomas Gardner	University of Exeter Cycling Club	01:55:03	+2:52
22	7	Alexander Foster	Cycling Sheffield	01:55:03	+2:52
23	22	Samuel Nisbet	Reflex Racing	01:55:03	+2:52
24	37	Joe Schillabeer	Shibden-A Fawcett	01:55:03	+2:52
25	18	Sam Long	VC Londres	01:55:03	+2:52
26	3	Harry Codd	University of Bath Cycling Club	01:55:03	+2:52
27	35	Dylan Hicks	St Piran	01:55:03	+2:52
28	10	Nathan Hardy	Team PB Performance	01:55:03	+2:52
29	14	Henry Hunter	Kendal Cycle Club	01:55:11	+3:00

Stage 3

Pl.	Bib	Name	Team	Time	Gap
1	19	Jamie Whitcher	BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE	00:19:40
2	1	Rowan Baker	Saint Piran	00:19:54	+0:14
3	37	Joe Schillabeer	Shibden-A Fawcett	00:20:20	+0:40
4	34	Zak Machin	HUUB BCC Race Team	00:20:58	+1:18
5	31	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	00:21:00	+1:20
6	2	Sam Chaplin	Cycling Sheffield	00:21:03	+1:23
7	4	Jake Edwards	Cog Set Papyrus Racing Club	00:21:24	+1:44
8	27	John Bardsley	360cycling	00:21:26	+1:46
9	23	Ben Pierce	Bridgnorth Cycling Club	00:21:36	+1:56
10	3	Harry Codd	University of Bath Cycling Club	00:21:38	+1:58
11	35	Dylan Hicks	St Piran	00:21:43	+2:03
12	33	Archie Peet	Reflex Racing	00:21:45	+2:05
13	25	Cai Curtis-Roberts	360cycling	00:21:52	+2:12
14	28	Max Krasinski	Cycling Sheffield	00:22:05	+2:25
15	10	Nathan Hardy	Team PB Performance	00:22:16	+2:36
16	7	Alexander Foster	Cycling Sheffield	00:22:26	+2:46
17	22	Samuel Nisbet	Reflex Racing	00:22:26	+2:46
18	24	George Safranauskas	HIVE Racing	00:22:32	+2:52
19	12	James Hartley	Cycling Sheffield	00:22:35	+2:55
20	21	Anthony Morris	Loughborough Students CC	00:22:44	+3:04
21	29	James Wordsworth	Cycling Sheffield	00:23:03	+3:23
22	14	Henry Hunter	Kendal Cycle Club	00:23:10	+3:30
23	11	Luke Harris	Halesowen A & CC	00:23:42	+4:02
24	26	Ryan Williams	HUUB BCC Race Team	00:23:48	+4:08
25	8	Thomas Gardner	University of Exeter Cycling Club	00:24:15	+4:35
26	6	Benjamin Flatau	HUUB BCC Race Team	00:24:23	+4:43
27	5	Matthew Ellmore	Prologue Racing Team	00:25:52	+6:12

General classification

Pl.	Bib	Name	Team	Time	Gap
1	19	Jamie Whitcher	BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE	05:09:28
2	1	Rowan Baker	Saint Piran	05:09:42	+0:14
3	37	Joe Schillabeer	Shibden-A Fawcett	05:10:08	+0:40
4	31	David Hird	Cycling Sheffield	05:10:34	+1:06
5	23	Ben Pierce	Bridgnorth Cycling Club	05:10:39	+1:11
6	3	Harry Codd	University of Bath Cycling Club	05:11:26	+1:58
7	35	Dylan Hicks	St Piran	05:11:31	+2:03
8	33	Archie Peet	Reflex Racing	05:11:33	+2:05
9	28	Max Krasinski	Cycling Sheffield	05:11:35	+2:07
10	2	Sam Chaplin	Cycling Sheffield	05:11:42	+2:14
11	22	Samuel Nisbet	Reflex Racing	05:12:00	+2:32
12	24	George Safranauskas	HIVE Racing	05:12:20	+2:52
13	4	Jake Edwards	Cog Set Papyrus Racing Club	05:12:27	+2:59
14	29	James Wordsworth	Cycling Sheffield	05:12:51	+3:23
15	25	Cai Curtis-Roberts	360cycling	05:14:33	+5:05
16	21	Anthony Morris	Loughborough Students CC	05:15:23	+5:55
17	27	John Bardsley	360cycling	05:17:02	+7:34
18	10	Nathan Hardy	Team PB Performance	05:17:59	+8:31
19	7	Alexander Foster	Cycling Sheffield	05:18:04	+8:36
20	6	Benjamin Flatau	HUUB BCC Race Team	05:19:59	+10:31
21	5	Matthew Ellmore	Prologue Racing Team	05:26:32	+17:04
22	12	James Hartley	Cycling Sheffield	05:33:13	+23:45
23	26	Ryan Williams	HUUB BCC Race Team	05:36:27	+26:59
24	11	Luke Harris	Halesowen A & CC	05:37:12	+27:44
25	34	Zak Machin	HUUB BCC Race Team	05:45:36	+36:08
26	8	Thomas Gardner	University of Exeter Cycling Club	05:50:44	+41:16
27	14	Henry Hunter	Kendal Cycle Club	05:57:00	+47:32