Last updated at 22:41, Wednesday, 08 August 2012

RIO hopeful Jack Sadler hopes to put the pedal to the medal when he takes part in a major junior contest this weekend.

CYCLING SENSATION: Jack Sadler races in Holland later this week REF: 50019979B002

The 17-year-old Ireland representative competes in the European Junior Road Race Championships in Holland on Saturday, where he will be testing himself against top talent.

Jack, who has been cycling since the age of nine, has been putting in the work for the event over the last few weeks, training in Belgium, Germany and Holland.

And his dad, Gary, himself a Commonwealth Games and Junior World Championship medallist, says Jack is aiming towards Rio in 2016, where he will qualify to race for Ireland through his grandparents.

But it is Saturday’s 130k race which Jack will be concentrating on for the time being, as he competes against 16-18-year-olds.

Gary, of Arrad Foot, near Ulverston, who claimed bronze for England in the team pursuit at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982, and bronze in the World Juniors in Mexico in 1980, said: “He will be competing against the best six-man teams from every nation in Europe.

“He’s buzzing, it’s a massive opportunity for him.

“He has had the opportunity to go racing in Holland and Germany for the last three weeks, which is a hot-bed of cycling and he is looking at it as a launch pad for next year because he has another year yet as a junior – so he can go again to the Europeans and the worlds, which are held in Florence in Italy.”

Jack, who starts an IT course at Furness College in September, has won more than 120 races so far in his blossoming career, and the South Lakes youngster has been crowned North West Regional Circuit Race Champion.

“He loves it, Jack’s passionate about it,” said his dad. “He’s a sprinter in the mould of Mark Cavendish on the roads.”

Jack trains between 15-20 hours a week and is capable of sprinting at more than 52mph.

At 16 he was ranked number two in the country in his age range, and was beating adults with bigger gears on a regular basis. At his own age level, Jack was part of the North West team who won a three-day international event in the Isle of Man last year.

First published at 16:15, Wednesday, 08 August 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk