Warrington Wolves' under 19s Academy players were put through their paces last week at Manchester's velodrome, the home of British Cycling.

The young Wolves were trained by specialist mountain bike coach Pozz Lonsdale and cycling fitness coach Simon Lamb.

Jake Batsford, Warrington Wolves' head of junior strength and conditioning, was impressed by the British Cycling facilities and set-up, and proud of the players' efforts.

He said: “Both the wattbike and mountain bike instructors commented on what a pleasure the lads were to coach. Everyone had a real dig. All in all they were a credit to themselves and the club.”

The training marked four-weeks into pre-season and all of the players have been working hard, on and off the field, to ensure the best preparation going into the 2015 season.

Head coach Lee Briers said: "Taking the boys to places like the velodrome to train shows both the club’s and my intentions.

"We value our young players and we want to give them experiences like this in great facilities so they have the best chance of making it as professional players.

"We’re also prepared to think outside the box when it comes to developing young players by doing different sports or exploring different training methods.

"We think it’s really important that the lads enjoy themselves as well as work hard through pre-season as it can become a monotonous task.

"I’m pleased we got this opportunity and I’d like to thank everyone at British Cycling who made this possible and hopefully it can be the start of a partnership in which we share more training ideas and practices.”

Head of youth, junior recruitment and development Ben Lazenby added: “It’s exciting times here at Warrington Wolves.

"We have never seen such a focus on and investment in the young players.

"Whether we are taking them to British Cycling, bringing guests in to speak to the players or the ongoing investment in the club through the employment of full-time staff and the improvement of our facilities the Wolves are making a clear statement to the rest of the game that we mean business and that the youth is the future of the sport."