The Route
Saturday sees the Scottish National Road Race Championships, organised by JG CC on the outskirts of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire. The course will be familiar to many, with the same parcours used annually in the Drummond Trophy.
In a welcome change for some, may be less so for others, the course features less elevation than recent Championships – with the potential for a sprinter to take the victory.
Open riders will complete seven tours of the 20km loop for a total race distance of 145km. Female riders completing four laps of the course, but there will be twice the prizes on offer – with both Senior and Junior Female titles up for grabs on Sunday afternoon.
The Riders
Open
A strong field awaits in the open race, Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT will be coming into the Championships keen to defend their title. 2025 winner Sam Chisholm hasn’t had the biggest road calendar in 2026, but a strong showing at Colne GP back in June, showed that the West Lothian rider still has a strong ride in his locker. The Boys in Maroon have a several other cards to play Sam Carrotte comes into Strathaven off the back of victory in Fetternear and a strong ride at the Beaumont Trophy.
The pre-race favourite would most likely be Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli), the Aberdeenshire native comes to the Road Race Championships after his Commonwealth Games debut earlier this month, and a fantastic victory at the Beaumont Trophy in the National Road Series. Team Scotland teammate Logan Maclean (Onelife) is always a rider who take the Scottish Champs by the scruff of the neck, victory in 2024 and coming very close in breakaway attempts in 2022, 2023 and 2025 – the Stirling native will be one to watch out for.
Edinburgh RC’s Kieran Savage and Alan Dean will be aiming for success, young riders’ Evan Marsh (BCC RT), James Sweeney (BCC RT) and Elliot Speedie (Shibden Apex RT) will be also be out to claim a first senior title.
Female
There will be two new Scottish National Champions in the female race, with both senior and junior reigning champions not able to defend their title.
Melanie Rowe is in the unique position to claim two titles on Saturday. The 16-year-old has been excellent in her first season at junior level, victory at Gifford in March, along with podiums at CiCLE Classic and last weekend’s North Yorkshire GP shows just how bright the future is for the Deeside Thistle graduate. Fellow junior Eve Fairbairn (Liv CC-Halo Films) has shown strong form this season, claiming the Scottish Omnium title on the track back in May.
Solas Cycling come with a strong team: Lydia Louw produced an excellent victory at Lake of Menteith earlier this season, while Millie Thomson claimed two victories this season on the Scotia Series at Dyke APR and Torvelo Road Race.
Previous Winners
Senior Open
- 2025: Sam Chisholm (Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT)
- 2024: Logan Maclean
- 2023: Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli)
- 2022: Matti Dobbins (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli)
- 2021: David Duggan (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli)
- 2019: John Archibald (Ribble Pro Cycling)
Senior Female
- 2025: Lulu Bartlett (Team Boompods)
- 2024: Beth Morrow (Alba Development RT)
- 2023: Eilidh Shaw (Alba Development RT)
- 2022: Beth Harley-Jepson (Jadan Vive le Velo)
- 2021: Becky Storrie (Team OnForm)
- 2019: Jennifer George (Torelli)
How to follow
It’s set to be a full day of racing in Strathaven with the Open race off first at 10am, before the Female Championships’ are up for grabs in the afternoon. That race starts at 3pm.
If you can’t join us on Saturday, don’t worry; we’ll have you covered with live updates on social media via our Instagram, FB Stories and Twitter pages – make sure to follow us @ScottishCycling.
We’ll wrap up all the racing with reports and interviews on our website on Saturday evening, and a highlights package to follow afterwards. If you’re out and about and capture some of the action – feel free to tag us @ScottishCycling on social media. We hope to see you there.