National Road Champs
Road Race
Elliot Rowe (Visma | Lease A Bike Development) produced a marvellous ride to take the Men’s Under-23 Road Race title at the Lloyds National Road Championships in Ceredigion on Sunday evening. The Scot had made the key selection of five riders that broke clear with 70 kilometres of racing remaining.
Holding off groups with major firepower behind, it was clear that Rowe, alongside Team Scotland teammate Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling), Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5) and the Ineos pair of Mattie Dodd and Connor Swift would contest the victory – once the latter had bridged across in the final 40 kilometres.
Rowe and Dodd having the added battle of contesting the Under 23 title. The two Ineos riders would attempt to double-punch their three compatriots outfront, but to no avail on the 12km finishing loop around Aberystwyth.
In the final lap, the three elite riders would break clear on the climb. Askey, whose father comes from Cumbernauld, seeking his first British title, with Wright and Swift looking for a second. Coming into the sprint, Swift would launch first on the esplanade on the Welsh coast, but Askey and Wright would both come round – with the Wright managing to pip the Team Scotland rider on the line.
Behind, Rowe would power away from Dodd to claim the Under 23 title to top off an excellent few months for the young Aberdonian. In the next group Vendée-U’s Adam Mitchell would produce a fantastic ride to finish eighth.
In the elite & U23 women Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco Continental) produced an excellent display across the weekend.
The Glaswegian demolished Thursday’s time trial to take the U23 National title – winning by nearly two minutes – with a time that would have been quick enough to end up on the elite podium.
Sunday’s road race saw the 19-year-old talent stay in the much reduced bunch – on a parcours that isn’t particularly suited to the Scots sprinter. Seventh place across the line was enough for Boothman to take bronze in the under-23 championships.
Criterium
Friday night saw the criterium championships decided, with Eilidh Shaw (UAE Development Team) sprinting to an excellent third place in Aberystwyth to claim an elite bronze. In the open field, defending champion Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was a key presence in the race but was unable to break clear as he did twelve months ago.
Youth Champs
Scarbrough was the venue for the British National Youth Circuit Championships over the weekend, with Inverness rider Olivia Poole (Specialized Development) claiming third in the Youth A event.
Masters Road Race
Aberdeenshire played host to the Scottish National Masters Road Race Championships on Saturday, with the Masters 60 title up for grabs for the first time.
Our report from our man on the ground:
The championships took place on the rolling Echt circuit, with 5 titles on the line, it was a day of multiple stories being written on the crosswinds of a breezy Aberdeenshire. First time up the main climb was decisive in splitting the peloton up, with a two man breakaway setting a fast pace and ultimately being the move that would shape the race, with Mark Walker, the eventual M50 Open winner and Ray Wilson battling it out. A chase group regained contact in the latter parts of the race, which containing the battle for the M40 Open title.
Richard McDonald taking the win in an uphill sprint finish, with James McCallum in second and Alan Dean in third. Greig Brown crossed the line a second behind Ray Wilson to close off the M50 Open podium. The second group on the road looked fairly uncommitted for large durations of the race, however it did contain a fierce battle for the Master 40 Female title, who were given the space to sprint for the finish given they were doing a lap less, with Heather Shanks taking the title with a final surge as they approached the last few 100ms, ultimately putting seven seconds into Natalie Stevenson in 2nd. Karen Outram would complete the podium for the M40 Female.
Alison Kerr who admitted she’d only taken to ‘real life’ road racing after taking part in last years Champs took the title for the Master 50 Females, with Kim Thomas and Elizabeth Wisdish rounding off the podium. And perhaps the most thrilling battle of the day was for the first ever Master 60 title. The two Robs, from Aberdeen Wheelers, who sat comfortably in the chasing group on the road, would leave them behind at the 1km to go marker and pushed onto the finish, with Cowie being the victor over Raynard by 8 seconds on the day, and David Finlayson rounding out the podium.
SDA
Over in Glencoe, this weekend held the latest round of the Scottish Downhill Association Series – also doubling up as a round of the British Downhill Series.
Youth Reid Simpson was the fastest down the track with a time of 2:23.036, with junior winner Elliot Smith in second and first elite rider Taylor Vernon in third with a 2:29.341.
Emily Carrick-Anderson continued her excellent form as the fastest female down the technical track, with her 2:52.083, three seconds ahead of junior winner Megan Horne.