Published: 18th Nov 2024 Images: Scottish Cycling

Onley and Holl crowned Riders of the Year at Scottish Cycling Awards 

Oscar Onley and Jenny Holl were among the ten winners at the Scottish Cycling Awards on Saturday night at the Inchyra Grange Hotel.

Double Paralympic gold medal pilot Jenny Holl was awarded the Female Rider of the Year, presented by Pedal Power.
Holl enjoyed an excellent 2024, with success both on and off the tandem. Claiming her first Paralympic titles, Holl left Paris with two gold medals, a silver and a bronze alongside stoker Sophie Unwin. World Championships accolades would follow with a quintet of silvers at the Track and Road World Championships this year.
Away from the tandem, Holl earned further individual honours with British titles on the track in the Points and Scratch races, and victory at the Scottish Criterium Championships in September.
Kelso’s Oscar Onley was named Male Rider of the Year off the back of a sensational year, which started with an incredible victory atop Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under. Onley would go on to become the first Scottish developed rider to start the Tour de France in 31 years in July – impressing hugely for Dutch outfit Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. An excellent Tour of Britain campaign would see the Scot take home the Young Riders’ classification and second overall.
The 22-year-old, who is currently preparing for his 2025 which will start with the Tour Down Under, said of his award:
“I’m honoured to win this award, especially with the tough competition of Fin Graham and Jack Carlin, as well as those who didn’t even get selected. It shows the place that Scottish Cycling is in right now and it means a lot to win this.”
With 51% of the vote, Fin Graham’s thrilling C1-3 Road Race gold medal winning ride at Paris Paralympics was voted by the public as the Moment of the Year, presented by HUPcc.
Double Junior World Champion Erin Boothman was awarded the Braveheart Trophy for the Best Breakthrough Rider, after her sensational season that saw her win two Junior World titles in the madison and team pursuit.
Royal Albert CC and their youth division Clydesdale Colts were awarded the Club of the Year, presented by Digby Brown Solicitors. The Colts have hosted multiple events this year, both grassroots and Scottish Championship level, as well as creating a fun, family environment for their regular cycling activity.
Just shy of 250 people gathered at the Inchyra Grange hotel for a night of celebrations, which started with a Champions’ Drinks Reception, to recognise all of our Scottish Champions from the past 12 months. This was followed by dinner and our awards ceremony, before a raffle that raised over £2000 for the Scottish Cycling Foundation, before our now customary ceilidh to round out the night.
The first award of the night went to Lorna Breetzke of Elgin Cycling Club – she claimed the Volunteer of the Year Award crown having been instrumental in growing the sport in the north of Scotland, particularly for female riders, whilst Trevor Bryant of cycle speedway club the Border Raiders was the winner of the Community Coach of the Year after delivering hundreds of hours of community outreach sessions to make more people aware of the discipline. Glasgow Riderz MTB coach Jason Barnes was awarded the Talent Coach of the Year accolade for his role in producing talent in the West of Scotland.
Easterhouse Phoenix Centre were announced as the Community Partner of the Year, their work in getting underrepresented groups onto bikes, not to mention sessions in conjunction with Parkinsons UK, elevating them above the rest. Last but not least, Zetland Park Pump Track Series was revealed as the Event of the Year for their work in opening up cycling to a new audience – 80% of those racing had never raced before.
Check out all the evening’s photos here