National Road Championships
Criterium
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) won the women’s Lloyds National Circuit Championship by millimeters from Izzy Sharp (Lidl – Trek) in a thrilling sprint finish.
A pre-race rain shower saw an already technical circuit complicated further by damp roads, as the riders rolled off for 50 minutes and five laps of racing. A cagey opening first half of the race saw multiple attacks but a furious pace meant no riders could make any advantages stick, with moves marshalled particularly by last year’s runner up Eilidh Shaw (UAE Development Team).
With around 20 minutes remaining, it was Jess Roberts (Spectra) who decided to break the deadlock, launching an attack along the finish straight, despite a fierce headwind. Although a chase began behind, she did not relent and was soon joined by Richardson and Sharp to drive on and gain a gap.
The trio worked well together and extended the time gap to the chasing group, showing brilliant cornering skills to maintain their advantage. With the 50 minutes completed and just five laps remaining, their lead stood at 55 seconds, meaning they were sure to close out the podium places and fight amongst themselves for the win.
This proved to be the case as the trio entered the home straight along the Aberystwyth promenade for a three-up sprint, with Sharp leading the others out and launching her sprint first. The 19-year-old looked in control, however it was Richardson who drew out from Sharp’s slipstream with immense power to take the title by the finest of margins on the line to seal her first British title.
Cameron Mason (Alpecin Deceuninck Development) sprinted to a fabulous victory in the elite open race, outmatching Bjorn Koerdt (Team Picnic PostNL) after spending much of the race in the breakaway with his rival.
A brutal opening pace meant the race followed a similar pattern to the women’s competition, with no attacks allowed to escape the peloton in the early stages, before Koerdt began the decisive breakaway with a devastating attack on the 20 minute mark. Launching from deep within the bunch along the finishing straight, he sprinted clear to quickly earn an 11 second gap – a textbook attack that we’re sure will get taught at Cluster Sessions for years to come.
Multiple riders attempted to help chase Koerdt down, however it was Mason who, just shy of the half hour mark, decided to close the gap himself, bridging the gap impressively within a single lap to make it a leading duo, where the pair saw their advantage soon widen to almost half a minute.
The duo, with their gap remaining steady for the next 20 minutes, despite numerous attacks from the chasing pack behind, but none looking like sticking. These attacks continued in a similar vein until 2022 national circuit champion Matthew Bostock (TEKKERZ CC) decided to make his move after strong work from his teammates. Bostock made incredible progress, chipping the gap down to just seven seconds as the race entered the final lap but it was not enough to catch the leading duo, as Koerdt led the pair onto the home straight, where Mason simply proved too strong as he sprinted clear to claim the title in definitive fashion. Behind, Bostock saw his efforts end in vain as he settled for third place.
Time Trial
Thursday kicked off the racing action in Wales with the time trial and there was to be more Scottish success in the under-23 ranks.
Callum Thornley (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies) took the title in a commanding display. Achieving the third fastest first lap and second fastest second lap, it was Thornley’s consistency which saw him take victory in a time of 35:26.98, ahead of Ben Wiggins (Hagens Berman Jayco CT) in second and Elliot Rowe (Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development) in third.
Completing the medal places, Elliot Rowe crossed the line in third place in 35:55.96, showing the great work he’s put in since joining the Dutch outfit.
Road Race
Sunday’s road races saw two thrilling races with drama throughout.
In the female race, breaks came and went before a key group of four managed to move clear to contest the win. In the group behind, Lauren Dickson (Handsling-Alba) attacked from the group of chasers and hunted down the leaders in the final 12km tour.
The Scot would stay clear of the chase to come home in an excellent fifth place, while behind, Eilidh Shaw would sprint to eighth place, with Kate Richardson and Morven Yeoman (DAS-Hutchinson) coming home for strong rides in the top 15.
The open race saw an incredible ride from Callum Thornley, attack from kilometre 0, showing a performance well above his years.
The Peebles rider rode into the breakaway along with a plethora of WorldTour talent; Thornley with Owain Doull (EF EasyPost), Oliver Knight (Cofidis) and Jacob Bush (Team Picnic PostNL) broke away from the leading group, managing to maintain a gap of between 20 to 40 seconds over the following laps.
Bad luck struck Knight with two and a half laps to go, when his chain bounced and looped, leading to a lengthy mechanical stop, leaving just the trio leading at the head of the race, as the pace increased in the chasing group with the advantage dropping rapidly. Thornley, Doull and Bush’s three lap odyssey came to an end a lap later, as the leaders finally found themselves caught and the elite group hearing the bell to signal the last lap together, including Knight, who had produced a stunning performance to regain contact with the group- when eventual winner Sam Watson (Ineos) attacked.
It would be sixth place for Thornley in the end an another under-23 silver medal – to round off a fantastic weekend in Wales.
Scottish MTB DH Champs
Heather Wilson and Joe Connell smashed down the mountain as the fastest riders on their way to taking Junior Female and Senior Open titles at the Scottish National MTB Downhill Championships at Glencoe.
Masters Championships
Saturday saw the Scottish National Masters Road Race Championships, with Richard McDonald (Vanelli-Project GO) winning from the break and Elgin’s Lorna Breetzke taking the female top honours.
MTB Series
Kirroughtree Forest played host to the latest round of the British MTB Series, with plenty of Scottish success.
Daisy Taylor (Royal Albert) won the elite female with teammate Beatrix Khielmann in fifth place. While in the elite open, there was a great ride from Sam Chisholm to come home in fifth, and Grant Ferguson (Hope Tech FR) in ninth.
Innes McDonald (Scotia Offroad RT won out in the junior open, and Freya Mowbray, also Scotia, rode to second place in the female juniors.
Further success would come in the youth ranks with Oliva Poole (Deeside) and Gus Lawson (Pedal Power) taking the victories, while in the juveniles Guy Rorke (Pentland Racers) won out with Josh Stewart (Steppingstanes) in fourth.