ALBIE Jones’ potential as a future Olympic Games cyclist is being recognised at the highest level.
Exciting times are ahead on the back of the 16-year-old being selected by British Cycling to join their Team GB Olympic development squad.
Current Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College student Jones, who took his GCSEs earlier this year at The Grange School in Hartford, is the first to have come through the ranks at Warrington-based North Cheshire Cycling Club to be given this career-making opportunity.
Jones, who was taken under the wing of the North Cheshire Clarion Juniors coaches from the age of nine, is the pride of the club thanks to his considerable achievements to date and the pathway he is on.
Last year, Jones was crowned champion at the National Youth Omnium Championships held on the velodrome at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.
At youth level, this is a mix of five endurance and sprint events where points are accumulated in each event – cycling’s equivalent of a decathlon in athletics.
He also claimed a silver medal at the National Closed-Circuit Championships, along with two more silver medals at the National Youth Track Championships.
Jones ended the year as the highest ranked cyclist on road and track for his youth-level age group.
After a series of tests at the velodrome in Manchester, he was invited by British Cycling talent pathway coaches to take part in a six-month evaluation process which required him to attend Team GB training camps every three to four weeks.
The highlight of this was getting to train and race alongside the elite riders on the podium potential squad.
The six-month period came to a close with racing at his first Senior Track National Championships in Manchester.
His selection by British Cycling to join the Great Britain cycling team world-class programme as part of the men’s endurance Olympic development squad was confirmed a few days later.
This year he will attend more Team GB training camps.
He will also start a new chapter of racing in the junior ranks with his new team Tofauti Everyone Active Majaco which will take him to some of the highest profile junior races in Europe.
Jones remains a proud member of the town’s cycling club and acknowledges he owes a lot to the support and encouragement he has received from their coaches, parents and clubmates and considers North Cheshire Clarion a fantastic place to get started in the world of cycle sport.
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