Are You Faster Than A 9th Grader?

Who would win in a race: an ex-pro cyclist or a 14 year old kid? You don’t need to look much further than the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Fem van Empel to know that young cyclists are fast! Hank goes head-to-head with 14-year-old Harley Widdowson and 17-year-old Oli Akers in a series of challenges to test speed, climbing and bike skills. Can youth beat experience?
00:00 Intro
00:37 Meet the kids
00:56 England’s steepest climb
04:55 Track stand
06:50 5km time trial
09:24 Max speed
11:16 Results
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[@gcn]

Do you want to see Oli & Harley back for another GCN video? 👇

[@DarenC]

Yes, they were great. But I'd also still like to see more diversity in the guests you feature 👍🏽

[@TheMachoGabacho]

Awesome video! It worked out as I expected. A bit more agility from the youth, and more overall power from a seasoned adult rider. Next time, add in a 40 year old!

[@alinapopescu872]

Definitely!

[@mamamiddleagedmotorcyclead6643]

Fantastic! Good on gcn!

[@petesmith6438]

Yes get oli on a cx bike. I've watched him lap me in races😅

[@FurySpyder]

You should repeat this test every year for the next 20+ years 😂

[@gcn]

Hahaha that could make a very funny bench mark 😂

[@bertonabike6991]

Thanks, Hank and Oli, for a great day filming. I thoroughly enjoyed it 👍

[@hbt25]

Woop woop

[@millardjk]

Nice showing, H. I feel you were a little handicapped on the climb with those wet conditions. Hopefully you get an invite back in better conditions and you can show them what a national climbing champ can do…

[@bahoonies]

Well done both boys but hats off to Harley. Only 14 years old and he was equal on time with Oli in the TT. And wasn't he rock solid in the track stand?

[@Kim_Miller]

I think you need to give Harley an extra point for biggest grin. Surely that counts in cycling. 😀 Watching the young guys do so well reminds me of the old adage, 'The older I get the faster I was.'

[@gcn]

Smiles = miles! 🙌 Future cycling stars for sure!

[@djrlloyd]

Love to see these 2 youngsters with such confidence, up for any challenge and really enjoying their cycling. This is surely what it’s all about.

[@gcn]

Say it louder for those at the back 🙌

[@andras.89]

I like how you already "round up" your 31 down to 30, Hank :) Awesome episode, I always enjoy how good you are presenting "outsiders" to the actual episode.

[@scottjones9362]

Well done Hank. You engaged well with those 2 brilliant kids! Good episode 🚴‍♀😀

[@gcn]

We wonder why that is... he's a big kid really 😂

[@scottjones9362]

@@gcn If a man hasnt grown up by the time he is 40, he doesn't have to. That's the law. 🤣🤣

[@johnrafael4110]

that man oli is fast as hell for his age, both of them are killin it

[@deblordoutdoors5783]

Bamford Clough is no joke. Strenuous enough to walk up (and down)! Last time I walked up a cyclist was having a go. Gave him a cheer, but he didn’t make it. Well done!!

[@iconhotel182]

That was fun! The moment hank unclipped while sprinting though 😲 I would have gone down. Great job recovering from it, hank.

[@gcn]

Hahahaha this could of been a very different video 👀

[@aliensporebomb]

That was a nice save - it would be very easy to throw yourself off balance and Hanks' years of bike handling served him well there.

[@kithinders1086]

Hank, you're a brave me. I coach high school mountain bikers and they always put a target on my back. I try to stay ahead of them as long as possible, but by the time they are Oli's age, there are a few of them have me beat. Way to represent the well aged demographic. Proud of you.

[@msheron]

I knew it would be between you and Oli. Harley is still developing both natural and in cycling expertise. Great video!

[@gcn]

Some real potential though 👌

[@richardharris8538]

Kudos to 14 year-old Harley who did so well in the TT. But how are we to get our heads around an Ollie who doesn't get dropped?

[@jasonhack60]

Feel like you underplayed the fact that Oli was a couple seconds off the KOM. what an insane effort! beat hank by an entire minute 😂

[@gcn]

It was an incredible time!

[@talonlan]

In the wet as well he would get KOM in the dry

[@ZRaceCentral]

LET’S GO HARLEY!!! Proud to say that I know you 😉

[@Chrissummerill]

Harley cheering Oli up the climb was awesome! 🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@dorydiavelone3531]

Both are fine young men GREAT JOB Harley And Oli!!!

[@tonyBobb5209]

Good effort, gents. When I climbed Alpes D'huez last year, I saw a father and son cycling down Alpes D'huez, I was halfway up at this point. 20 minutes after reaching the top, the boy who must have been no older than 12 reached the top of Alpes D'huez, absolutely ridiculous! The new/next generation is going to be interesting for the sport. I think we will see some really talented cyclist. Great content as always, GCN! 👏🏼

[@gcn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stevek8829]

If they were going "down" as you went up, how did the boy reach the top with you.

[@Morbpious]

@@stevek8829 he saw them at the top, @tonyBobb5209 probably took a 20min break or something while up there

[@baksybaby9529]

Harley has a good poker face - true cyclist 👍😎

[@rando5673]

50km/h at 14 years old 🤯 I struggle to hit 35km/h, although that's on a hardtail MTB with 2.3in tires

[@ordb74]

This was so good hahah. Good job Harley and Olli for taking Hank on.

[@marknelson9406]

Fantastic content! My favorite video of the year. Congratulations to all 3 riders!

[@gcn]

Thanks! Would you look to see Oli and Harley return in a future video?

[@student_of_God]

​@@gcn absolutely!

[@mr.techie8565]

@@gcn absolutely!

[@marknelson9406]

@@gcn Yes. I would absolutely love to see the young guns featured in future videos!

[@anneschalk652]

Yes! What a great trial :) I will be watching Oli and Harley's futures! (Yours too, Hank...)

[@gcn]

Hanks future is full of silly challenges!... you know where to catch them 😉

[@gustavorincon1640]

17-19 is such a tricky age for cycling: You´re very very young, but yet you´re actually very close to sub23 competition, meaning: if you´re talented, you´re likely to be very good already, and the improvements you´ll make in the following years could carry you to a succesful carreer, however development is not the same for everyone and sometimes a good Junior just won´t become a good pro or viceversa, other times an average junior will just go pass everyone in like a year. That´s why I say: the first thing is to love the sport! and everyone that wants it should give it a go!

[@rhiannonjohnson4757]

Very entertaining video! Great job Hank, Oil and Harley!

[@gcn]

They gave him a real run for his money!

[@grahamcollins6810]

Love it! Come back in 5 years, and let's see how things have changed?

[@alinapopescu872]

Britain's got talent. Massive talent 🙂 Well done, lads! You too, Jimbo 😉

[@gcn]

Hard work all around on this one 🙌

[@ronaldgjosey1254]

KUDOS to all. Two young Road Warriors, Olie & Harley to watch for in the Peloton.

[@cb6866]

Thanks to Harley ,Oli , James and crew ! Looked like fun...Hank wasn't encased in ice , or buried in mud ,..............this time .

[@pwoods00]

Keep bringing these kids back!!

[@Smurf_Garden]

Involve the youths more plz. It is heartwarming to see em loving to cycle and would like to see them get some coaching.

[@Jon-Lewis]

Get in Oli.......get some proper Yorkshire influence on GCN. More with these two - get Hank against them at Cyclocross 😂😂😂

[@pq6328]

Great Video. Congratulations to Harvey for a magnificent performance, What a fun to watch this friendly competition. Congratulations to Oli!!

[@ianstewart8301]

Chapeau to everyone but mostly to Harley for pushing through

[@joegamas1194]

This was an absolute awesome video, awesome tough challenges, I would definitely love to see Oli & Harley back for more interesting challenges , awesome job Hank 👍👏💪

[@robclayton9612]

Absolutely amazing work you three!

[@brew-jameshenrybreward4889]

Excellent video top work chaps and great to see the future of the sport being included

[@ricktoth7418]

Had Oli winning but Hank, very respectable showing!

[@Babkyb]

Great spirit, loved it! Great play to all of 3!

[@ethangodridge6833]

Thanks GCN. Cracking riders them youngsters, seen them race and they are potentially ones for the future.

[@gcn]

Definitely ones to keep an eye on!

[@ollieelgie]

What incredible maturity from Harley. Really impressed by the lad.

[@andrewpalmer]

Great video GCN. Amazing riders... even the OAP.

[@DarenC]

I used to coach youth riders at a Go-Ride club, and by the time they got to secondary school age I was eating dust most of the time 🤣

[@cd_dubbs]

I still can’t track stand lol 😂 these kids would destroy me!

[@jamesbull9879]

Loved this! Great to see the young guns coming through!! Hope racing in the uk gets its act together and gives them a great base for the future

[@gcn]

These two were flying 💨

[@peaceonearth9550]

It was fun watching three guys having fun, great video.

[@cschmitz]

I like that this was a friendly positive competition. Good show to all 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@tonyanderson333]

After watching Oli race many times I’m amazed he didn’t win everything as he’s an animal on a bike with super human technical skills!

[@gcn]

He pushed Hank to the edge for sure 👀 One to watch!

[@peterleffler2062]

Epic efforts all round "Blow the world by storm" - I do love a mixed hyperbolic metaphor! Nice one Hank

[@Seppster58]

Great video guys. I see future GCN presenters here!! Love the content.

[@johnmaclaren422]

Great video GCN and Hank. Fantastic performances by Harley and Oli too. With Oli being 3rd now on Strava for Bamford Clough (already amazing) would love to see Oli vs Andrew Feather vs Andy Nichol on Bamford, and other climbs, hopefully in less damp conditions, given the moisture and leaves was likely some wheel slippage at times.

[@gcn]

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more on these youngsters soon!

[@headlinehighlights78]

Awesome! Love to see the future of sport.

[@colinboulton4796]

Good filming Hank good watch

[@VincentForDesign]

Hank is a great mentor we all need in our life!

[@bowrepublik]

lets see some more! juniors vs beginners doing some sort of delivery challenge.

[@xtrailz]

These kids are lucky. When I was 14 I had a Raleigh Grifter with 3 gears in the handle.

[@scottriley9776]

A GCN video that's not an ad! These are so much better than your ad ones.

[@238949]

Great, fun video watching Hank with the lads, upcoming presenters maybe :)

[@richardbuttner1989]

Concerning the capability, this was exactly the result I would have guessed. The peak performance of the body is somewhere around the age of 18. Very nice video!

[@cm.5023]

Props to those youngsters, I wish I found professional cycling in my teenage years. I was doing 30 mph sprints on the streets of the Bronx racing my friends and cars on a heavy diamondback mountain bike. I really need to get back on a bike more often.

[@ChrisGuarraia]

Those boys have got some bright cycling futures ahead of them! Well done, Oli and Harley! And you too, Hank!

[@nickc4716]

“Blow the world by storm”. 😂. An interesting turn of phrase Hank.

[@rachaelmellor3737]

Good on ya Oli! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼💥

[@aveedub7403]

Well done guys, I'm sure the youngest would've made the climb if not for tyre slip! When you know that's happening trying to compensate is distracting imo! Great little challenge, maybe try something similar I the future in better weather? 👍👍👍

[@gcn]

We're sure he'll be back when the roads dry up... hold on to your KOMs 😬

[@dalis994]

An excelllent episode. Hank, your enthusiasm is as always very contagious. BTW my track stand pb is 10 minutes and something. But it is an very old personal record

[@gcn]

Wow very impressive! What do you think you could hold now? 👀

[@dalis994]

@@gcn This PB is from my teenage times when I was practising it regularly. Now I wouldn't last but several seconds. 🙂 It's an art that needs to be practised, at least in my case.

[@nicklass7075]

Cool video! I'd have loved to do this with my cycle buddies if I had any.

[@chrisshubotham3732]

Great video, two outstanding young lads, I hope their parents have put a bet on them winning one of the Classics in the future.

[@G60syncro]

One thing popped up in my mind is how stupid crazy your body changes between 14 and 18 years old!! Your whole build changes and the fact that you're training during that time just amplifies this. So if you're training as a kid, by the time you're 14 all you'll have learned is srategy an how to properly handle a bike... After that, hormones explode and that's when you start seeing big power numbers!! Great vid as usual!! Get them back on anytime!!!!

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

Awesome Video Hank ya had your hands full with them two, good job lads making an old man feel older. Now it's time to see if Manon is faster then a 9th grader.

[@MJarthur95]

8:27 that was a sketchy moment 👀, SpeedPlay pedals?

[@Deepak19944]

Kids did a great job! Kudos to them

[@JimKJeffries]

Great idea, loved it.

[@gerrymcbride6429]

Kids were awesome and very personable. I'm most impressed. 👍

[@mctaggm]

I come 4th in my house as the most important person ranking, so great your man got better than me in a CX race.

[@amberrush9970]

Brilliant video

[@hugobci]

So much fun to see new faces and challenges! Now but the kids to do a overnight gravel bikepacking trip with ubcle Hank!

[@billpearson4119]

Brilliant!!!

[@markstone722]

Last time an Ollie went up this climb he got dropped before he even started 😂

[@GiorgioCoppolaCycling]

Let’s go Oli 💪 absolute animal!

[@akuababez]

if harley’s this good already i cant wait to see him in a year

[@HC-kn2sq]

What was even more impressive than that steep climb was how he got through the fence at the end as well

[@MrSmid888]

Nice one lads. Enjoyed it. 34 MPH if anyone’s wondering 😊

[@lordad]

Imagine doing this format many years ago with a 17 year old belgian soccer player who had just changed into cycling :)

[@kylehagertybanana]

they've got some lovely bikes

[@jimcourson8390]

Entertaining! Young guns are so talented!

[@caroliensche13]

I would have expected a different result at least in the sprint, where i thought all points will go to Oli. Chapeau, Hank, for this win! What takes the most experience in my eyes would have been the climb, but weight is also increasing with age.

[@baksybaby9529]

Harley is one to watch - as he advances - look out

[@__-bk6mm]

"Watch out for these guys in the future because they're gonna blow the world by storm" Not exactly Si but we get what you meant mate lol.

[@JSC131]

Brilliant content congratulations Hank you was really pushed by these young guns.

[@LIFE_ToBeContinued]

Great video

[@erlendsteren9466]

The competing teenagers are bliztering fast, it was impressing that Hank was able to keep up. Norway is one of the areas that is filled with talents. The biker Jørgen Nordhagen is so strong that he was nr 8 in Norwegian cross country skiing championship for adults (15 km, less than a minute from victory).

[@mlee6050]

I love to see if 14yo in all aero Vs GCN and pro (GCN (normal gear) and pro not in aero)

[@alexishester329]

Good job hank!!!

[@martinsmith3016]

Used to race with oli, mint to see how far he has come

[@magicknight8412]

Great video, good to see the younger rides in something like this interesting to see. Bamford Clough reminds me of Beeley Hill not that far away and looks very similar which totally destroyed me.

[@gcn]

It's a brute! We've attempted it before with former national hill climb champs who made it look easy (relatively anyway!) 👉gcn.eu/SteepestClimb

[@ezielh2993]

I am also 14. Im not sure if i can make it up that hill😂 I would certainly like to give it a try one day.

[@michaelgraycycling]

You should do a video on the 60+ beasts. That’s so humbling when they come past you 😆

[@trainiax]

So this means I could almost keep up with cyclists less than half my age... I can't decide whether that's reassuring or daunting. But I do know I wasn't anywhere near that level when I was 17, let alone 14!

[@Hatchet25]

😂😂 I'm sure they will "blow the world by storm" Hank. Don't worry about coming second, a stitch in time has a silver lining....