BARNSLEY man Jenson Young finished second in The Gralloch UCI World Series race in Scotland despite suffering with a puncture towards the end.

A fortnight after pulling out of the Traka 360km race in Spain with back problems, the 24-year-old from Hemingfield took on the 111km hilly race which he said was his main goal for the year.

He broke away in a three-man group with Tour de France stage winner Michael Woods and Austrian rider Lukas Postleberger.

With 14km left, Jenson noticed a puncture and spent 30 seconds repairing in then a further 20 a kilometre later after hearing air coming out again.

He had passed Woods between the two stops and managed to hold onto second place despite having to take corners slowly due to the soft tyre.

He finished 78 seconds behind Postleberger and 75 clear of third.

Jenson said: “I had uncertainty and doubt about how I would perform after struggling with recent back issues and lacking some confidence coming into the race.

“However, months of hard unseen preparation has gone into training for this race and I was ready to give it my best shot and fight for a result.

“The startlist was absolutely stacked. I lined up against some of the best gravel riders in the world, people I watch week in week out on the TV. It felt pretty surreal to be even in the race with them, nevermind be considered one of the favourites.

“I thought my race was over when I got the puncture. When I crossed the line, I was very relieved but also had a big feeling of ‘what if?’ I think I’ll be thinking that in my mind for a while. But also I’m extremely happy with my performance, how I raced and even achieving second place.

“This is up there with one of my best results especially with the competition I was up against. I’ll take a lot of confidence from this going into the rest of the season, looking for that top step of the podium.”