Parkinson named best young rider at Gandia

Dewsbury road cyclist Abby-Mae Parkinson was named best young rider at the first race of the European season at the Setmana Ciclista Valencia in Gandia last Thursday.

Parkinson finished eighth at the 118km race through the hills of the southern most part of Valencia, which saw the riders tackle two categorised climbs within the last 30km of the race.

Parkinson, pictured, said: “I was really nervous before the race but I managed to stay near the front of the peloton for the technical parts which boosted my confidence, as that has always been a struggle for me.

“I felt strong coming into the finish after the last decent so I put a couple of big turns in to catch the two leaders, I was first into the last corner and just gave it my all. I’m super happy with the result and it was great to have the Trek-Drops girls around me through out the race.”

Parkinsion remained in eighth place after stage two and another impressive ride at the 137km Sagunto stage in Valencia on Saturday saw her move up a place to seventh overall, while she finished the fourth stage in Bendiorm 11th to place 11th in the final standings.