Errigal International Youth Tour once again returns to Donegal for the sixth annual race.
The Errigal International Youth Tour is a festival of competitive cycle racing for boys born 2001 to July 2007 and girls born 1999 to July 2007 and is the premier youth event on the Irish cycling calendar.
The photographs from this picture special were taken at the junction of the N56 with the Letterkenny/Churchill road, where Brendan Delap, Peter McGlynn and Seamus Temple were the traffic stewards keeping things safe for these very young cyclists.
One minor incident occurred during the race in which one young cyclist was attended to by the ambulance crew. Thankfully they are unhurt, and with great determination got back on the bike and finished the race!
Stage one took place yesterday in Churchill, with stage two and three taking place today.
Cyclists will today take on a challenging 3.8km from Larkins Bar and finish in Foxhall, before the infamous Keelogues Stage that everyone looks forward to, a Road Race that takes the riders around a 9.5 km circuit that ends with the climb up Keelogues onto the main street in Churchill with the U12s completing 1 lap, the U14S completing 3 laps and the U16S completing 5 laps.
On Monday morning the competitors will take on stage four, a Criterium circuit in the town of Letterkenny. This promises to again be a great spectacle.
Stages 1 and 3 are routed through hilly terrain and as this is a youth tour are of a lap nature, thus making it more
spectator friendly for the following support, mentors and parents alike.
The Errigal International Youth Tour is now without a doubt not only a top cycling event for youths in Ireland and the UK but is now arguably one of the top youth events in Europe.
The event has a well-earned reputation for being an amateur youth event that is managed and run at a professional level in terms of organisation, quality of field, up front spectator involvement and top class, combative bike racing from youths at the very top of their game
For more pictures and full results visit Errigal International Youth Tour 2017 on Facebook.
Photography: M F Bourke.
