Cameron Hounsell - Keirin King!

Meet Cameron Hounsell, British Cycling’s Youth Keirin Track Champion for 2025. 

From balance bikes on the Isle of Man to sprinting to national glory, Cameron Hounsell is one of British Cycling’s many bright prospects. The 2025 Youth Keirin Track Champion, Cameron is a product of the island’s renowned RL360 Isle of Man Youth Cycling League, the same grassroots programme that produced legends like Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh.

The RL360 Isle of Man Youth Cycling League has given hundreds of riders from the island a chance to ride and race every Tuesday night since 2006. Such has been its impact on the Isle of Man that organiser Dot Tilbury  was awarded an MBE for her efforts.

Despite the logistical challenges of racing off-island, including early starts, rough ferry rides, and balancing training with schoolwork, Cameron has had an outstanding year, with multiple top-five finishes across both road and track disciplines. In fact, that ability to deal with the hassle of getting to a race is what Dot says’ makes Manx riders so resilient!

Cameron, explain how a keirin works

Cameron’s win came in the Keirin, a race that may need explaining for non-track aficionados. Here’s Cameron’s explanation: “Keirin is a high paced six lap sprint race. It starts off with every rider drawing cards to decide the order behind the derny. Riders have to stay in the order behind the derny for the first lap, then are able to move, but cannot pass the derny. Once the derny pulls off it’s three laps of high paced racing which gradually gets faster over the three laps and the winner is the one who crosses the line first on the last lap.”

*The derny is a motorised pacing bike that gradually builds speed, before pulling off the track with three laps to go. After that, it’s an all-out sprint. Making the race a test of strategy, power, positioning and guts.

How did your championship ride go?

Despite limited experience in Keirin racing - he’d ridden just a handful of races and a couple of practice sessions - Cameron powered through the quarter and semi-finals, winning each of his heats against more seasoned riders.

In the final, Cameron drew card number one, placing him right behind the derny; not his preferred spot. He usually likes to sit further back, reading the race before reacting. Worse still, when the derny pulled off, he found himself boxed in, unable to break free.

His response? In his own words Cameron “chose to make a gap and go through it“! With the way now clear Cameron powered away to claim the British Youth Keirin title.

What’s Next?

Cameron’s keeping his focus firmly ahead. He plans to continue racing at junior level into 2026 and 2027; ideally with a team that can give him exposure to European racing. His long-term goal? “To carry on the Cavendish legacy for the Isle of Man and race in the World Tour.” With the mix of talent, tactical intelligence and Manx grit he’s already shown, Cameron could be one to watch.

Cameron’s ride

Cameron is racing on Handsling’s TR3evo track frame, which is already a winner at national, continental and world championship level. When we asked him about his bike and how it handled, he replied; “the TR3evo is definitely the bike for me! It just powers through everything I throw at it. It was one of my best purchases and I love how it's the perfect stiffness for both endurance and sprint events.”

The TR3evo is a UCI-approved endurance track bike designed by Handsling to be aerodynamic and super-stiff with superb handling characteristics. Constructed from Toray T700 carbon fibre, it surpasses ISO standards and can be customised to make it truly yours.