Cameron Mason had mixed fortunes over the weekend in Belgium as he finished off his lengthy stint of racing with three races in four days.
Thursday’s X2O Badkamers Trofee round in Koksijde saw the Cyclocross Reds rider come home in 13th place in the sandy course, with the Scot fighting his way through the field and making passes on the areas of the course where riders could go two abreast.
The result sees Mason retain his third place in the overall standings with three rounds still to come, the next at the end of the month.
Mason swapped the sand for the more favourable mud on Saturday with the C2 event in Gullegem. The Scot worked his way through the field once again to find himself running in second place at the halfway mark. The final few laps saw the British Champion chip away at the lead of Michael Vanthournout (Baloise Trek Lions) but was unable to recoup the 20 second advantage.
It was, however, another second-place finish for Mason who is undoubtedly having his best season to date with six trips to the podium – and his third in Belgium.
Sunday saw Mason travel to the World Cup round Zonhoven; however, his race was quickly over after suffering a crash at the first corner. The Scot wisely opted to abandon rather than race on, and he will focus on returning to Falkirk on Saturday, where he looks to defend his national title and become the first rider to do so since Tom Pidcock in 2020.
Bradford
Sticking with Cyclocross, a few Scots made the journey down to Yorkshire for the final round of the National Trophy held in Bradford.
There was an impressive ride from Scottish national champion Lewis Martin (Studio Velo) who recorded his best ride of the series, with a fourth-place finish in the Elite Open race; having dominated the Scottish Cyclocross series, he’ll now look to take the fight to continental-based riders in Falkirk on Saturday. Anna Flynn (Spectra-Cannondale) was top Scot in the Female Elite/U23 race coming home in 17th place.
Scotia Offroad RT duo of Freya Mowbray & Daisy Wilkinson produced solid rides coming home in fourth and sixth place respectively in the Under 16 girls’ event.
The Under 14 boys race saw another great ride from Rhuairdh Fulton (West Lothian Clarion CC) to claim an excellent second place – his fifth of the series – and importantly more than enough to ensure he takes the Series Trophy. His closest competitor going into the day was fellow Scot Guy Rorke (Peebles CC) and he produced another classy ride, coming home in fifth place.
Monsters of Track
Away from the muddy fields of Tong, there was a first footing for Scottish racing at the weekend, with the first round of the Monsters of Track taking place at the Emirates Arena, organised by Johnstone Jets.
It was great to see big fields kicking off racing in 2024 – round two of the series is on Saturday 10th February and you can enter here.