HALESOWEN cycling star Matt Bailey scored his biggest win of the season so far in the Junior Tour of Ireland.

The 16-year-old Halesowen Cycling Club rider won the prestigious race, held over six stages and 350 miles around Castlebar in County Mayo, by just seven seconds from South African Louis Meintjes.

Bailey, who is currently Halesowen News Sports Personality of the Year, also secured an impressive hat-trick by scooping the green jersey points competition and the white jersey for first year juniors.

His team mate Perry Bowater took the King of the Mountains crown to give the West Midland’s squad a clean sweep.

Matt said: “It was a big leap up from the under-16 league, especially in the mileage, I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the week.

“Road-racing is what I want to do in the future so it was a great experience, an insight into the life of a professional cyclist.”

After beating Meintjes in a sprint finish to claim the yellow jersey on stage two, Bailey relinquished the race lead on a tough third stage, only to win it back straight away with victory in stage four the next day.

Bailey and his West Midlands team were then able to protect the lead over the final two stages to secure a prestigious win.

He added: “It was a tremendous effort as Meintjies had quite a big team with him, there were only four of us in our squad so it was extra work for everyone to cover his moves.

“It’s quite nerve-wracking when you are protecting such a slender advantage, you have to be aware of whats going on all the time.”