A podium place for Sabine as she finishes 3rd in the 2014 Challenge de l’Avenir series
On Sunday 16 June over 219 young cyclists from 19 clubs competed in the eighth and final round at Plémy,
Brittany. Thirteen year-old Beaulieu student, Sabine Minchinton-Gilley, once again displayed her sprinting ability
in the sprint time trial to win the girl’s event in the minimes classification. As a result of this impressive time
Sabine was seeded on the second row on the start line for the road race; this had been one of her goals for the
season as a higher start position helps in being able to choose entry lines into corners as well as earning
valuable points for the event’s overall placing. A couple of hills on the course added excitement together with a
hairpin bend at the end of a fast decent requiring careful negotiation. Sabine finished 5th in the road race and,
together with her sprint result, she placed 4 th overall in Sunday’s event.
Plémy was the last event in the 2014 Challenge de l’Avenir series. As a result of consistently high finishing
positions, including one overall win, Sabine finished the Challenge series in 3rd position on general classification
and collected an impressive trophy. This overall result was very pleasing and rewarding since she was unable to
compete in all the rounds due to taking her first GCE exam earlier in June and having had a delayed start to her
season due to injury. Besides her busy schedule, Sabine is also working towards her Young Coach Award with
British Cycling by assisting with the Go Ride Club at St George’s Preparatory School, the primary school she
previously attended.
Sabine races for CC Plancoët and is a member of JCA Youth Academy and Caesarean Cycling Club.
Sabine (third from left) is well positioned in the road race
On the podium, Sabine (left) placed third overall in the 2014 Challenge de l’Avenir.