There was definitely a feel of summer in Fort William on Saturday morning, as 60 of Scotland’s future MTB stars competed in the Mini-DH Final at Nevis Range before the professionals raced in the afternoon.
Open
Louis Thornley was the winner in the under 16 Open event. The Borders native was rider number 60 on the startlist, and at the end of his first run usurped the 1:29.1 set by Monty Palmer (Deeside Thistle) by half a second to take home the victory. While Corey Davidson claimed third place, with his time just over 1:32 mark along the course.
The course itself, was just 600m allowing riders two runs, with their best time only counting, but still long enough to provide a challenge for the younger riders and keep the racing tight, with little margin for error.
The fastest time of the day came in the under 14 race with Zach Buchan (Pentland Racers) using his cross-country form to great effect to claim the victory with a time of 1:25.89 – four seconds quicker than that of any other rider. Freddie Stevens (Black Isle MTB Club) come home six seconds further back, with Josh Buchan (Pentland Racers) in third.
Congratulations too, to Oliver Brookes on victory in the under 12 event from Cooper Black in second, and Hamish Welsh in third.
Female
There was local success for Isla Cant (West Highland Wheelers) claimed the victory in the under 16 female race. Cant’s time of 1:47.36 was enough to claim a dominant win by a margin of near 11 seconds. Eilidh May came home second from Lucy Main in third.
Mia Jackson claimed victory in the under 14 from Ellie Porter in second and Megan Sinclair in third.
With Lily Cant claiming the win in the under 12 ranks. With Charlotte Lawton Silva and Lucy Main rounding off the podium.
Prizes were awarded on the main stage after the Women’s Elite qualifying with the full UCI Downhill World Cup crowd cheering the riders on. Medals were awarded by Scottish Minister for Sport Maree Todd.
A massive thank you to Warner Bros Discovery for hosting the event again and to our brilliant team of volunteers for making the racing happen. We’d also like to extend our gratitude to Nevis Cycles, Muc Off, Vittoria, Shimano, Greg Williamson and Oakley for supplying prizes.
Provisional Results:
Live Timing can be found here. Full report to follow.
U12 Female
- Lily Cant
- Charlotte Lawton Silva
- Molly Sell
U12 Open
- Oliver Brooks
- Cooper Black
- Hamish Welsh
U14 Female
- Mia Jackson
- Ellie Proctor
- Megan Sinclair
U14 Open
- Zach Buchan (Pentland)
- Freddie Stevens (Black Isle)
- Josh Buchan (Pentland)
U16 Female
- Isla Cant
- Eilidh May
- Lucy Main
U16 Open
- Louis Thornley
- Monty Palmer
- Corey Davidson