Poppy McIvor produced a great ride in the two day, four stage Canberra Junior Tour in Australia. The event, which took place from 27 to 28 May, saw junior riders from all over Australia, as well as a couple of internationals like Poppy, take to the roads of Canberra for some very competitive racing.
As the opening event of the Santini Junior 19 National Road Series, it boasted a strong field, with Poppy taking part in the under 17 women division. Racing on day one started with a criterium, followed by a road race, while the second day of racing featured a kermesse and an individual time trial.
The opening criterium finished with a bunch sprint, with Poppy safely in the lead bunch to go into the seconds stage equal on time with the race leader.
The road stage saw some huge gaps open as the field was left in tatters all over the course. Stage winner Georgia Gardiner finsihed three and a half minutes clear of Hannah Gianatti in second place, with the next due a further five and a half minutes back. McIvor finished in sixth place on the stage, just over ten and a half minutes down on the stage winner, while four riders failed to complete the stage.
The third stage kermesse finished in a bunch sprint again, with Poppy crossing the line safely with the leaders to retain her sixth place in the overall classification heading into the final time trial.
The 16km individual time trial was the final opportunity for riders to make a move up the overall classification, and Poppy put in a very solid ride to finish in fourth place, two minutes 15 seconds down on the stage winner, and with enough of a buffer over the other riders to move herself up into fourth place overall, just one step shy of the podium.
It was a very good finish to a challenging tour, and one that bodes well for Poppy's development as a contender in multi day stage races.