The Scots duo will be part of an 11-strong Great Britain squad that will be aiming for some top results, after delivering some excellent performances over the course of the season.
Mason will contest the elite men’s category after his breakthrough year in the sport, becoming the first ever British man to stand on the podium at the European Championships, winning the silver medal in France back in November.
The 2023/24 season has seen the Linlithgow rider claim no fewer than 17 top ten performances – including a brace of World Cup top tens at Maasmechelen and Gavere.
Another high point of the former West Lothian Clarion rider’s season was victory at Callendar Park in Falkirk at the British National Championships earlier this month. Racing just 10km from home on a course he has battled with throughout his career, he rode away from the field to pull off an excellent solo victory in front of an expectant local crowd, defending his British stripes.
The past few weeks have seen a differing range of form, with an excellent seventh in Hamme in between midfield finishes in Benidorm and Hoogerheide. However, with the benefits of tapering from a training camp in Spain, Mason will be aiming for a big result in Czechia come Sunday.
Carrick-Anderson also claimed the U23 national title in Falkirk but has endured a particularly quiet season thus far on the cross bike. However, that excellent performance at Callendar Park does show that his form is top notch.
He’ll be in action for Great Britain in Friday’s Mixed Team Relay alongside Mason -an event GB took home a medal in at the European Championships – in addition to his U23 race on Saturday.
A top ten finish would be an improvement on his 14th place finish in Hoogerheide 12 months ago and will surely be the target for the young Peebles rider.
The Course
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a race at the Tabor course, which has been a staple of the World Cup calendar in recent seasons.
The parcours in Czechia does tend to reward fast racing, with more grass than mud overall – that being said, deep into the winter riders could have to face frozen patches, especially on shady off-cambers. The British riders will take comfort however that it resembles something more akin to a British National Trophy round than a tricky sand race like we’ve seen at Koksijde and Zonhoven recently.
The Scots missed the last race here in 2022, instead racing the National Trophy in Falkirk, however Cameron did claim a third place finish in the U23 World Cup in 2021, with Carrick-Anderson claiming a 15th place on that occasion. Hopefully it will prove a happy hunting ground again this weekend.
How To Follow
You can watch all the action across the weekend starting on Friday with the Mixed Relay, which is available via the UCI’s YouTube channel, keep an eye on the Scottish Cycling social media pages, we’ll share the link.
Eurosport, Discovery+ and BBC iPlayer are the places to go for Saturday and Sunday’s racing. Failing that we’ll keep you up to date via our social media pages @ScottishCycling.
Broadcast Schedule
All Times in GMT
Friday:
- 11:25 – Mixed Relay feat. Cameron Mason & Corran Carrick-Anderson (YouTube Only)
Saturday:
- 09:50 – Women Junior (Discovery+ and Eurosport online only)
- 11:20 – Men’s U23 feat. Corran Carrick-Anderson (Discovery+ and BBC iPlayer)
- 13:15 – Women’s Elite (Eurosport 2, BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer)
Sunday:
- 10:50 – Men’s Junior (Discovery+ Eurosport online only)
- 11:20 – Women’s U23 (Discovery+ and BBC iPlayer)
- 13:20 – Men’s Elite feat. Cameron Mason (Eurosport 2, Discovery+ BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer)