Alanah Wickett, Year 11, clocked a personal best of cycling 10 miles in a time of 26 minutes and 22 seconds into tough head winds on a dual carriageway.
She said: “I was competing against many fifteen-year-old girls who also had to get through a regional selection process to be able to qualify for this event. I was so delighted that I came 3rd. However, I was only 5 seconds off second place and 27 seconds off coming first, which is now an aim for next year!”
Alanah’s success is hot on the heels of her recent performance at the National Sainsbury’s School Games in Manchester where she was one of 8 chosen to represent the South West after placing as the region’s top young female cyclist at the selection event.
She joined 1,600 other competitors in Manchester for the UK’s largest multi-sport event for elite level, school-age athletes. The event featured twelve different sports across four days ranging from cycling and fencing to table tennis and volleyball.
Alanah said: “It was such an honour to race at such a prestigious event; it was like a mini Olympics! We were treated like professional athletes with an opening ceremony and a competitors’ village. It was particularly exciting for me as we raced in Manchester velodrome, the home of British Cycling. The experience was unforgettable.”
Teams were kitted out in full professional kit from the event’s sponsors with live stream cameras filming every race. The cyclists took part in elimination, sprint and point races where they were expected to complete 60 laps of the track averaging 25 mph.
