BMX National Series – Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld Centurions hosted Rounds 5 and 6 of the British BMX Series at Broadwood BMX Track in North Lanarkshire with over 800 riders in action for each day of racing.
Performance Development Programme rider Harrison Bell (Pure Bicycles/Western Titans) was in action in the Superclass in both rounds. The Scot picked up an eighth and sixth after getting pushed off the track in 2nd corner on Saturday and then picking up sixth place.
In the Female 15’s Alexis McCartney (Cumbernauld Centurions) made the final on Saturday with an eighth-place finish. The Scottish champion bounced back after crashing out in the semi-final on Sunday as she claimed the win her B Final.
While in the Female 14’s, Eilidh Watson (Cumbernauld Centurions) secured her spot in the A finals on both days. Watson claimed an excellent fourth on Saturday, before going one better on Sunday.
In the Open 15’s, there was some success for Lewis Collins-Nimmo (Western Titans), who made his first national final on Saturday, finishing in seventh. He followed that up on Sunday with a fifth-place finish in the B final. A very strong weekend for the Glasgow rider.
Scott McCallum (Cumbernauld Centurions) made the quarter finals on Saturday and unfortunately crossed the line in 5th ending his day there, with the Centurion making the same stage on Sunday.
While in the Open 14’s Cooper McCrum (Cumbernauld Centurions) finished in the dreaded 5th in his quarter final on Saturday and his day ended there. He then went one better on Sunday and made the semis, putting him into the B final where he finished in eighth place.
Young gun Brodie Geddes (Cumbernauld Centurions) was flying in the Open 13’s and made the quarter finals on Saturday, however he was squashed down the second straight and unclipped finishing seventh across the line. Sunday saw him make it to the semis where he came home in sixth; qualifying for the B Final – where he crossed the line in third place.
A huge congratulations to everyone involved in the weekend, with another excellent advert for Scottish BMX.
Catch Up: Round 5 | Round 6
Full Results: Round 5 | Round 6
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UCI Downhill World Cup
Leogang was the venue for the latest round of the UCI Downhill World Cup. The Austrian track has delivered some great moments for the Scots over the years including Reece Wilson’s World Championship victory in 2020.
Rising star Heather Wilson (Muc-off Young Guns) came to Austria off the back of winning the first two World Cup events of the season in Fort William and Poland, the Angus rider was aiming for a threepeat in Leogang.
The Scot admitted herself that she struggled to find her flow on the track, which suffered from a strong on Saturday night, but it was an excellent ride to take the third spot on the podium and continue her lead in the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
The afternoon’s elite races saw plenty of Scottish action with Lou Ferguson (Intense FR) flying the flag in the women’s final. Ferguson pushed through the fog at the top of the course, and came home in ninth place.
The men’s elite final saw Reece Wilson (Trek FR) and Greg Williamson (Madison Saracen) in action.
Williamson was the first out of the gate in his new kit. The Scot charged down the higher part of the course, staying low along the motorway section and maintaining his speed. He came into the woods hot, attacking the roots and mud without missing a trick. Just as he was looking to set a strong benchmark he fell victim to a rear flat and could only nurse his bike down to the finish for a much slower time than his performance had deserved, to eventually finish just outside the top 20.
*If you’re squeamish skip the next paragraph*
Reece Wilson suffered a crash in practice, which partially dislocated his shoulder! The former World Champion did pop it back in quickly, but did ride conservatively through the pain and came home 26th in Austria.
The World Cup moves to Italy for a round in Val di Sole next weekend.
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain
It was a UCI Women’s WorldTour debut for Alba Development RT as they took to the roads of England and Wales for the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Women over the weekend.
The race returns after a hiatus in 2022 with the Scottish trade team fielding a strong roster of riders making the step up to the highest level of racing.
Scottish champion Eilidh Shaw finished the best on general classification in 33rd place, but that included a 16th place finish on Stage 3, which also saw English teammate Caitlin Dimbleby in the breakaway.
Arianne Holland and Beth Morrow also both survived the horrific conditions of the final stage to make the finish. Plenty learning to take for the Scottish team, with hopefully more top level events to come.
There was a rare road sighting of Neah Evans (Torelli), who raced her second road race since claiming Commonwealth silver in Birmingham two years ago. The Scot abandoned on the final stage in the horrific conditions.
British XC Series – Woody’s Bike Park
The Scots travelled all the way down to the Southern tip of England for the latest round of the British XC series at Woody’s Bike Park in Cornwall.
Read the full report here.
British Paracycling Road Championships
Finlay Graham, and the duo of Sophie Unwin and pilot Jenny Holl were amongst national para-cycling champions at the Lloyds Bank National Disability and Para-cycling Road Championships in the time-trial and road races at Darley Moor over the weekend.
Paralympic champion Fin Graham put down a blistering time of 34:09.29 to take the open C3 time-trial win, before storming to the road race win the next day.
Read the full report from Darley Moor here.
Scottish Youth Circuit Series
East Kilbride Road Club played host to the latest round of the Youth Circuit Series race at Kames Motor Circuit.
Melanie Rowe (Deeside Thistle) claimed the Youth A female win after an excellent solo ride, with Eve Fairbairn (Discovery Junior) in second and Eva Murphy (Deeside Thistle) in third.Zara Main (Deeside Thistle) claiming the Youth B victory.
Zach Barbour sprinted to the Youth A open win from Elliot Speedie (Edinburgh RC) with Brodie Duncan (West Lothian) in third.
Andrew Levinson (Edinburgh RC) pipped Josh Stewart (SteppingStanes) to the Youth B win.
Scotia Series & North Regional Champs
It was round two of Scotia Series in Elgin with the Duffus Road Race also doubling up as the North Regional Championships.
The day kicked off with the female race.
A very cold and windy morning on the Moray Coast made for a tough race then the rain came on. Lap two saw several riders off the back after a few surges from the riders on the front. Attempts to get away followed but nothing stuck until the last lap when Vicky Smith (Alba Development Road Team) went solo off the front, gaining time very quickly to over two minutes. A sprint finish for top 10 positions saw Solas Cycling’s Isla Easto take second place, followed by teammate Harriet Hendry.
The sun came out for the open but no reprieve from the heavy Westerly up the Covesea climb. Lap 1 was fast, as expected with the several riders trying to go for an early break. It wasn’t long before three riders went off the front, but a lap later it was down to two, Neil Scott (Deeside Thistle) and Jed Scott (Torvelo).
The early move paid off with the gap increasing between the peloton every half lap. A second group made an effort to chase them down with about a lap to go but they held them off. Neil claimed the win crossing the line two seconds ahead of Jed, with Alistair McNicol in third place.
Huge effort by Elgin CC once again to organise another great event.
National Youth Omnium
A number of Scots travelled to Middlesborough for the National Youth Omnium round at the outdoor track in Teeside.
See the results here.
Abroad
Callum Thornley (Trinity Racing) is enjoying La Dolce Vita with a great start to the Baby Giro d’Italia, with the Peebles native claiming fifth place in the opening time trial.
Ahron Dick (Academy Région Sud p/b Giant) and Struan Shaw (Tofauti Everyone Active) were in action in the UCI Junior race the Côte d’Or Classic over the weekend, with Dick claiming a top ten and Shaw in 25th place respectively.