UCI Para-Cycling Road Worlds
Sunday saw Fin Graham defend his men’s C3 road race title after a sensational attack inside the closing kilometre to take it to the rest of the field and show he remains the best in the world.
The C3 race was a tight affair with a large bunch of riders sticking with each other throughout, with lots of tactical moves made which built up the tension ahead of a thrilling conclusion. With eight riders still in contention with a kilometre to go, Graham made his move, pulling away from his opponents to open up a small margin which would continue to grow. France’s Thomas Peyroton Dartet tried his best to reel him back in, but it was to no avail as Graham sealed the gold medal.
He said afterwards: “To win a first world title back in 2022 was a dream come true, so to now be retaining that for the fourth year in a row, is something that I could never have imagined. To do it here in Belgium, with that crowd, was phenomenal. I was made to work for it; it was such a hard race.
“It has finished off a really good week for our squad. Retaining this title, as Paralympic champion, is very special. To race in the rainbow stripes for another year is still a pinch me moment. I’ll never get tired of looking down and seeing the rainbow bands.”
Sunday’s gold backed up Friday’s bronze medal in the Individual time trial – to make it a brace of medals in Flanders for the Highlander.
After securing silver in the time-trial on Friday, Sophie Unwin (piloted by Jenny Holl) put in a ride of grit and determination to seal the bronze medal in the women’s tandem B road race.
The pair were made to work hard for their place on the podium after an eventful contest. They went hard to stay with the group during early attacks, tracking the eventual gold-medal-winning Irish pair of Katie-George Dunlevy and Linda Kelly on the opening two laps, but they couldn’t match the pace at the front as Ireland and Poland moved away.
Despite a close battle with an Italian pair over the last laps, Unwin and Holl would pull away to claim bronze and leave Ronse with a double medal haul.
UCI World Cup
It was a sensational ride in Friday’s Short Track in Les Gets as Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale Factory) produced an excellent performance to take his maiden UCI World Cup victory.
After an solid start, the race had opened up for the Aldridge and teammate Luca Martin on lap seven when Thomas Litscher (Cabtech Racing Team) misjudged a steep uphill hairpin and held up the rest of the pack allowing them to build a nine-second lead across the line, but they couldn’t hold it and the bloated lead group re-formed and stuck together entering the final lap.
It was there that Luca Braidot made his move, dive-bombing Aldridge and Martin on the ascent only for the Crieff man to repay the favour, by using his dropper post and turning to the top of the climb and the short descent to the finishing straight meant the home favourite had to bide his time for the sprint.
Exiting the final corner, Martin was closing on Aldridge all the way to the line in the final sprint and got alongside his teammate but couldn’t nudge his wheel in front, finishing on the same time as the British national champion who celebrated a milestone win in his career.
“I’m absolutely buzzing, crazy race it went so fast I was at the front with Luca [Martin] and the last lap was a bit of a battle,” Aldridge said. “I wasn’t sure if Luca was going to be faster or me but you kind of work together in these races and 1-2 is a really good way to end.
“Had a little battle on the last few corners which made the heart rate go even higher than it was already but I’m over the moon. You’re so focused on trying to pull it off [on the final lap] then something like that comes, Luca [Braidot] flying down my inside and I went ‘I’m going to get him in the next corner’.”
Scottish National MTB Championships
It was a day where the junior riders showed just how bright the future of Scottish Cross Country Mountain Biking is, with Innes McDonald and Freya Mowbray from SORT RT taking their respective titles, passing their senior counterparts in the process.
Read the full report from Ae Forest here
Scottish National 50-mile Time Trial Championships
From Ae to Aberdeenshire, as Scotland’s best long-distance time trialists were testing their mettle at the Scottish National 50-mile Time Trial Championships.
Graham Hollinger and Lorna Breetzke were crowned national champions, after a great morning of racing in Kinneff. Read the report here.
Elsewhere
After an exceptional start at the Tour de l’Avenir, the Scots kept up the good work throughout the week.
In the men’s race, Elliot Rowe kicked on from his sensational stage win, to finish well inside the Top 20 overall; while Callum Thornley, in what will be his final Tour de l’Avenir as he moves to the WorldTour next season, showed his versatility to come home 12th overall.
At the l’Avenir Femmes, Eilidh Shaw rode well in support of the British sprinters, who were consistently in the top ten throughout the race.
Further north in France, there was another strong result from Alfie George at the UCI 1.2 GP de la Somme to finish second in a SCO-Dijon 1-2. The Scottish rouleur has been in excellent form in recent weeks, with a plethora of podiums at French elite races. The Discovery Junior alumnus current sits second in the French Domestic Rankings.
Herne Hill Velodrome hosted the UCI South London Grand Prix. Logan Maclean was in strong form claiming four podiums in an excellent weekend of racing, as Glasgow Track RC’s Will Munday claimed a second and third in the sprint and keirin.