Cycle Speedway
Yesterday, nine riders became the first ever Scottish Cycle Speedway Champion in their category, with Fife Cycle Speedway hosting a fantastic inaugural edition of the championships.
To win a championship title, competitors race in a series of sprint battles against up to three other riders at a time. Each race is four laps of the 80m track, with little space for pedalling between corners, so the start is important to be able to pick your line and dictate the tactics. Specific types of contact are permitted, making for tense exciting racing. Points are awarded for each position across the line, with the title awarded to the rider with the highest points at the end of the series.
Congratulations to our nine winners, with Marianne Cameron and Kayden Davidson claiming senior honours, with age group National Champions including Jason Keith (Veterans), Sam Stansfield (U18), Calan Cuthbert (U16), Alexander Rudge & Anna Emond (U14) and congrats to Mac and Anna for claiming U12 honours.
If you want to give speedway a try, we’d highly recommend it – check out a club near you on our club finder tool.
Youth Crit
Melanie Rowe (Deeside Thistle) put on a crit masterclass to dominate the Scottish National Youth Criterium Championships in Cambuslang, while West Lothian Clarion’s Brodie Duncan following suit in the Youth A Open after an impressive sprint victory.
Read the whole report and see who took the titles across the age-groups here.
Barcelona Track
This weekend saw the 20th Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona XI Memorial M.Poblet track meet, with a number of Scots in action.
Lyall Craig (Glasgow Track RC) produced an excellent sprint performance to claim victory in the men’s sprint, with a third place in the keirin, to boot. Teammate Niall Monks was also in scintillating form in the Catalan sun, as he won out in the keirin, in addition to his sixth-place finish in the sprint event.
There was Scottish success too in the Madison, with Kieran Riley and Callum Twelves combining to secure the victory, with the duo also among the bunch in the Omnium too.
Ellie Stone was impressive once again in the national team kit, with a strong third place in the keirin, in addition to her fifth in the sprint, whilst teammate Kirsty Johnson came home with a brace of sevenths.
Great Britain Cycling Team duo Lauren Bell and Iona Moir were too in strong form, with Bell’s sprint third and Moir’s sprint fourth and keirin sixth, ensuring Scottish representation across the sprint events.
A successful weekend in Spain’s second city, as we look to enter the winter track season, with Track League just around the corner
National Road Series
Eilidh Shaw (Alba Development RT) completed a historic double on Sunday by claiming victory in the National Road Series, at the final round in Stamfordham.
The Scot finished second at the Curlew Cup in Northumbria, which was enough to take the overall title – doubling up on the Circuit Series crown that she claimed earlier this summer – she becomes the first Scot in history to win both in the same season.
2024’s breakout star, Lauren Dickson (Alba Development RT), produced another great ride to take home the Queen of the Mountains award, a strong ninth place finish on the line helping the Scottish team to second overall.
After strong performances in Italy, Alex Ball (Project1) returned to Britain with a strong showing in the Beaumont Trophy on Sunday to claim fourth, sprinting for the win from a select group and just coming up short.
Enduro Worlds
Trentino in Italy was the venue for the UCI MTB Enduro World Championships.
Ella Conolly produced a fantastic performance to come home in fifth place in the Women’s Elite event in the Alps.
British Champion Corey Watson claimed an excellent eighth place in the Men’s Elite event, coming home just 52 seconds behind the winner over the five stages at Val di Fassa. Fellow Scot William Brodie finished in a strong 29th place.
Sticking with MTB, Isla Short (Ghost FR) claimed a top ten finish at the Ökk Bike Revolution event in Switzerland.
Hope Supercross
Believe it or not, it may only be mid-September but cyclocross is back. The European season kicked off with a brace of races in Bradford over the weekend at the Hope Supercross (C2).
Arabella Blackburn (Shibden Apex RT) made her senior debut and produced a strong showing in Saturday’s race – coming home in ninth place, and the fourth best Brit – in a field that featured lots of Belgian talent. Innes McDonald (Scotia Offroad RT) was in strong form too – coming home seventh in the Juniors and fast dry day of racing.
Sunday’s second round on the same course, but conditions were very different, plenty of rain making it a much slippier affair. That suited Scottish champion Lews Martin (Studio Velo) who claimed an excellent fourth place – his best at a UCI event, with Team HUP’s Sam Chisholm coming home a fine 15th.
In the Junior Open InnesMcDonald would match Martin’s fourth place finish, a signal of his intent for the coming winter, whilst an 11th place finish for Blackburn would round off a successful weekend in Yorkshire.
This Sunday sees the opening round of the Scottish Cyclocross Series at Camperdown Park in Dundee – on a new course for 2024. Entries close at midnight on Tuesday – so get yours in before it’s too late.
Jolibar Trophy RR
Sam Carrotte (University of Aberdeen) claimed the victory at the Jolibar Trophy Road Race in Aberdeenshire – organised by Deeside Thistle. Carrotte claimed the win from Ray Wilson (GTR – Return to Life) in second, with Neil Scott (Deeside) in third.