Team News: Junior Mens Team

All change at the former PH-Mas  junior team as management and sponsors change to form Fensham Howes – MAS Design Junior Race Team

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Team News: Junior Mens Team

Fensham Howes – MAS Design Junior Race Team

A new era begins for one team in 2019 – this season sees the junior race team formerly known as PH-Mas make some significant changes. A change of management, as Nicky Hartle and Neil Hendry pass the reins on to Giles Pidcock and Sonja Harper.

Photo: JT Sports Media

A new sponsor comes into the fold, Bramham based financial managers Fensham Howes, who join Otley based MAS Design as title sponsors.

One thing that is likely to stay the same, however, would be the ambition and DNA of the old PH/Mas team. Having been involved with the team when Tom Pidcock was coming through the junior ranks, Giles and Sonja seemed like the perfect choice to take over when it was time for Nicky and Neil to step down.  The first action for the team will be the Eddie Soens Handicap road race, a traditional season opener on the first weekend in March.

After this, the main aims for 2019 will be made up of the Junior National Series races and National Championships, the Elite Crit Series as well as races abroad – Phillipe Gilbert and Guido Reybrouk classics are already on the calendar, with more races to be confirmed as well.
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The team will consist of 4 riders:
Sam Watson – a second year junior, Sam will be looking to build on a successful first year, having won the Junior Tour of the Isle of Man, a stage of the Junior Tour of Wales, as well has having success on the track; Sam is currently Junior Points & Scratch race national champion and this winter has seen him take a win abroad at the U23 Gent 6 Day race.

Joe Pidcock – Joe will be stepping up from Youth to Junior but has plenty of experience under his belt already. 2018 saw Joe take wins in town centre races in Barnsley, Ilkley and Otley, as well as the overall win in the Youth Tour of London. Joe has spent the winter racing cyclocross – both in the UK and abroad, lining up amongst the world’s best in World Cup and Superprestige races on the continent.

James Wordsworth – despite a busy year last year in the Youth A category, James achieved some fantastic results with a win at Skipton and top 10 placings at Barnsley and Ilkley, riding for Otley CC. James is looking forward to taking on some of the harder road races on the Junior Calendar for 2019.

Bob Donaldson – Bob is the only team member not from Yorkshire, being based in Manchester. Bob is an experienced track rider, with 4 podium places at last years Youth Track National Champs. Bob is no stranger to the big events on the national calendar on the road either having won the prologue in the Youth IOM Tour and finished on the podium in 5 other national series events.
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Sponsors
As well as the two title sponsors, the team will be supported by a number of different local businesses for the year.  Paul Milnes Cycles in Bradford continue to support the local cycling scene, supplying the team with Ridley bikes, Lazer Helmets and the new look RPM kit. This is a partnership that has run for a few years now and is a huge help to the riders.  Yorkshire Classic Porsche, based in Collingham, started out as a dealer selling post-1970’s Porsche cars, but has now branched out into customising VW Transporter Vans – one of which will be supplied to the team for travel purposes as they will be spending a lot of time racing in Belgium and Holland over the coming months.

The team’s nutritional needs will be looked after by Leeds based company OTE Sports – they are a huge contributor to the cycling scene, supporting many teams throughout the north of England.

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