JOE NALLY may be a national record holder in the velodrome but the Charlestown teenager now has his sights set on loftier goals.

Nally was part of the Scotland team sprint trio that broke the British youth record en route to picking up gold at the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games in Manchester over the weekend The 16-year-old joined forces with Stephen Dent and Lewis Stewart at the National Cycling Centre to clock a time of 49.039 seconds in the final, beating the England South team and breaking Yorkshire’s four-year-old national record.

That wasn’t Nally’s only medal on the track at the weekend as he also picked up a bronze in the points race.

The Hardie-Bikes.com Club rider was a key part of Scotland’s cycling success at the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games and he believes there is a very special reason for their achievements.

“I think haggis has been the secret of our success this weekend,” joked Nally.

“It’s such a good laugh being part of Team Scotland, we all get on so well together. It’s also great to be in Manchester at the velodrome as well – the plan is to be training here one day.

“I was never expecting to break the national record, especially in the team sprint.

“I was terrified all race. I was man two, so I swung up and watched Lewis finish it off, but I couldn’t watch.

“One of my biggest dreams is becoming part of a road tour team. It was great watching Team Sky in the Tour de France this year, they were so dominant.

“It definitely made me want to be a part of it. I have to get onto the next step of the British Cycling program and see where it takes me.”

Nally’s season is now coming to a close but the youngster believes it has been a largely successful year with a bronze medal in the Under-16 points race at the British Youth & Junior Track Championships back in August a particular highlight.

That matched his points race finish at the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games and while it wasn’t gold, the Woodmill High school pupil claims he is far from disappointed with the result.

“I'm delighted with the bronze medal,” insisted Nally. “Coming into the race I was going for a medal because I got bronze in the British Championships too so I wanted to repeat the performance.

“The competition is so tough, everyone here is really good - we must be one of the best countries in the world right now for our age group.

“I feel the pressure from the others competing to get in the GB team - they're going to make my life quite hard!”

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