Discovery Junior Cycling Club hosted the Scottish National Omnium Champs at the Mark Stewart Velodrome on a packed Saturday of racing, with Scottish titles to be decided from the Youth C ranks all the way up to Seniors.
Senior
There were four races for the senior riders to contend: the scratch race, elimination race, tempo race before the final points race.
Philip Campbell (Johnstone Wheelers) produced an excellent ride to claim the gold medal in the senior open event. The Johnstone Wheeler won out in a tight 20-lap scratch race, besting Scottish Hour Record holder Andy Bruce (Vanelli-Project GO) in the dash to the line.
It was a similar story in the elimination race, with Campbell making it two from two from Bruce, with Lukas Mearns (Discovery Junior) claiming the third spot. It was three-in-a-row from Campbell in the tempo race, with Nico Anelli (Real Guts Racing) placing second in his return to track racing.
Heading into the final points race, there was only three points separating Campbell from Bruce, but the Johnstone Wheelers’ rider was able to dominant the fourth and final race, claiming maximum points to win the national title, from Bruce in second and Anelli in third.
In the female field, Veteran Road Race Champion Jude Patterson (RT23) struck first, with victory in the scratch race before Molly Evans (Solas Cycling) claimed top honours in the elimination and tempo races, with Anna Fairweather (RT23) in third.
The afternoon’s final points race decided which order the medals would be awarded, with the under-23 rider Evans riding well to take home each of the sprints, which was more than enough to give her the gold medal, Patterson came home in second, with Fairweather taking the bronze.
This is Evans’ second national medal in a week after, claiming the silver medal at the Scottish National 10-mile Time Trial Championships in Orton last Sunday.
Youth A
The Youth A open race is always a competitive affair with Elliot Speedie (Edinburgh RC) building on his recent form at the Youth Tour of Scotland to take the gold, after a hat-trick of victories. Speedie claiming the accolade of the only rider to break 60 seconds in the 800m individual time trial, which opens proceedings in the youth omnium.
Pushing Speedie close, however, was Colin Johnstone (Johnstone Wheelers) with second in the points race, 800m time trial and a solid third in the scratch race; which was enough to claim silver. Multi-discipline rider Brodie Duncan (West Lothian Clarion) took home the bronze after a very strong showing in the frantic scratch race.
Eve Fairbairn (Discovery Junior) claimed the gold in the female event after a hat-trick of victories on her home track. Kasey Park (Edinburgh RC) claimed silver, following her consistent showing of second places across Saturday’s racing. There was a very tight North-East battle for bronze, with Ava Luce (Deeside Thistle) managing to pip Abigail Chaplin (Discovery Junior) in the final scratch race to claim the third step on the podium.
Youth B & C
Andrew Levinson (Edinburgh RC) impressed throughout the Youth B open event, with wins in the time trial and scratch race to claim the gold medal. The Edinburgh rider has been showing strong form in recent weeks, including at the Isle of Man Youth Tour, and has topped it off with a national title.
Reuben McLardie (Johnstone Wheelers) was the only rider to best Levinson with a points race win, which was enough for him take silver, with Josh Stewart (SteppingStanes Youth Cycling) in third.
Zara Main (Deeside Thistle) was on top form to claim the Youth B female title, with a trio of wins, with Millie Boothman (Glasgow Riderz) in second and Izzy Barbour (Edinburgh RC) in third.
Congratulations to Eilidh S. (Johnstone Wheelers) and Cobey S. (SteppingStanes) to claim the victory in the Youth C event.
Overall, it was a fantastic day of racing in the City of Discovery, with racing proceeding without incident. A massive thank you to the organising team at Discovery Junior Cycling Club and the team of officials.