A busy weekend of action, with the final road National Champs of the season taking place in Stirling, as well as the latest round of the Scottish CX Series.
National Hill Climb Champs
Arianne Holland (Alba Development RT) and Sam Carrotte (University of Aberdeen) were crowned national champions in the atmospheric mist of the Wallace Monument as the Scottish National Hill Climb Champs took place on Saturday in Stirling.
Read the full report here
Castle Douglas CX
The latest round of Scottish CX series took place on Sunday in Castle Douglas organised by Jim Cameron and the team at Albannach, with nearly 300 riders making the journey to Dumfries and Galloway.
Lewis Martin (Studio Velo) continued his domination of the series at his local round as he claimed his fourth successive victory of the season. Grant Ferguson (Hope Factory Racing) came home in second, just over two minutes behind Martin, with Neil Scott (Deeside Thistle) in third.
There was an imperious performance by Lotta Mansfield (Montezumas Race Team) in the Women’s race – as the Stirling Uni student won by over five minutes on the heavy course in Lochburn Park. Vet 40 rider Sian Tovey came home in second place, narrowly besting fellow Vet rider Madeleine Pope (Hors Catágorie) by 15 seconds. Fourth across the line, but second senior was Alicia Dawson, who held off Sally Devlin for the minor steps on the senior podium. West Lothian Clarion’s Sarah Darling was the best Junior rider – riding to 14th place finish in the women’s race.
In the Junior Men’s, it was Ben Allan – the latest of a long line of talents from Peebles Cycling Club - that won out after an excellent ride, with Milo McIntosh (The Cycling Academy) in second, Henry O’Brien (Scotia Offroad RT) winning the dash to the line to snatch third place. The same race saw the Vet 40 Men’s event with Dominic Rourke (Peebles CC) claiming top spot and moving to second place in the series standings.
Gregor Calvert extended his series lead in the U16 Boy’s standings, after claiming his second consecutive win yesterday, as Calvert headed a one-two-three from West Lothian Clarion, as Brodie Duncan and Ewan Sexton mirrored the series standings, to come home second and third – the best part of a minute behind the winner.
Daisy Wilkinson (Scotia Offroad RT) claimed the win in the U16 Girl’s race from teammate Freya Mowbray, while series leader Eleya Mold (Glasgow Riderz) finished third.
Mairi Dowdens (West Lothian Clarion) won her second round of the series in the South West with a great ride to win by over five minutes in the U14 Girls’, while fellow Clarion rider Rhuairdh Fulton was victorious in the U14 Boys’.
UCI World Pump Track Championships
The UCI World Pump Track Championships took place in Austria over the weekend at the very impressive indoor Area47 pump track in Tyrol.
Scotland’s Fraser Hand was in action with an excellent effort to finish in 17th place. A strong qualifying performance of 22nd was improved on in the final, with the Scot narrowly missing out on a place in the Last 16.
Six Days of Gent
From Pump Track to Track, as the famed 166m velodrome in Gent played host to one of the most prestigious events on the track cycling calendar, a trio of Scots travelling across the channel to compete.
Elliot Rowe (Anexo Group RT) alongside partner Will Salter claimed the victory in the U23 event in Belgium. It was a tight finish in the final madison, but the duo held out to claim victory by 12 points over the Danish pair.
In the Elite event, Mark Stewart paired with Oliver Wood came home in tenth place after a mammoth effort over the week. While in Thursday’s Para-event, Fin Graham rode to victory in the 2.5km pursuit.
Newport GP
Sticking with the track, several Scottish sprinters travelled down to South Wales for the Newport GP.
Kirsty Johnson (Edinburgh RC) was on excellent form to finish second in the women’s sprint, with the Scot riding impressively through the rounds to end up in the final; here she would narrowly miss out on the top step of the podium. Younger sister Sarah (Edinburgh RC) was in strong form going into Newport after picking up four national titles at the Scottish National Youth and Junior Track Champs last weekend. Sarah was making the step up to race with elite riders, however more than held her own, winning the minor final to come home in fifth place.
Ellie Stone (Black Line) off the back of her UCI Track Champions League debut, also impressed. After qualifying second quickest, the Scot rode into the semi-final – losing out to eventual winner Amy Cole (Wales RA). Victory in the bronze medal final secured the Highlander’s spot on the podium.
In the men’s sprint the Glasgow Track Racing Club pair of William Munday and Marcel Laurenz also had solid showings to finish sixth and eighth respectively.
