Alastair to the four in golden season

 

There have been many outstanding performances by Scots during 2009, but none has surpassed the efforts of Fort William-based Alastair MacLennan, who ends the year with a clean sweep of downhill titles.

The West Highland Wheelers rider has struck gold at the Scottish, British, European and World Championships in the 45-49 age group.

 

While he has tasted success on several occasions over recent seasons, his quadruple success this year marks a high point for a rider who was a latecomer to the sport having first taken to the saddle around a decade ago.

 

"I started off in motocross and also road trials bikes", he explained. "Then when the downhill track opened in Fort William with the gondola, I thought 'this looks good' and I had a go with Crawford Carrick-Anderson. That got me into downhill."

 

He points to the transferability of the skills required in his previous sport and the one he had just discovered saying, "The two stand pretty well together. You need to have strength in the right areas and trials did me well for downhill."

 

During three seasons in Masters racing, he had some success but the adage of life beginning at 40 was never truer than in the case of MacLennan, who added, "I started going faster at that point. I was moving into the vets category and I trained very hard that winter."

 

Soon he was making an impression at a high level and by the start of this year he had been World gold and silver medallist, had landed two British titles and was a double Scottish champion. However, everything clicked into place this season when he was unbeatable in major championships.

 

His first victory came in June, when he travelled to Kranjska Gora in Slovenia for the European Championships. There he got the better of the Italian duo Massimo Tosadori and Stefano Caiola to clinch the title.

 

Next on his schedule was the Scottish Championships at Glencoe where he powered to victory over Neil Wilson and Stevie Boyd. That was followed by a trip to Innerleithen for the British event. Different venue but same result, as MacLennan bagged title number three for the season, while Wilson was again his nearest challenger.

 

The fourth leg of his grand slam took him to Praloup in France and a showdown with his biggest global rival Jean-Pierre Bruni of the host nation. Once again, the Scot struck top form to emerge victorious from Bruni and the German Stefan Herrmann.

 

"My season just couldn't have gone better", said MacLennan, who had a few months to savour his success before starting his build up for 2010.

 

With a schedule that involves considerable time and expense, he is grateful for the ongoing support of Off Beat Bikes in Fort William and Orange. And, he has also moved to create a situation that makes it possible for him to allocate the time required for travelling to races.

 

"I changed my lifestyle to suit cycling", he said. "I'm fortunate that I work pretty much from home and tend to work around training."

 

That training currently involves three gym sessions each week, cross country rides and some competitive outings in the West Highland Wheelers cross country series.

 

He will soon retrieve his downhill bike from the garden shed and begin preparing for the Winter Series in Innerleithen then again turn his focus to international racing. However, he admits that he will probably surrender his world title this year.

 

"At this stage, I won't be going to the worlds which are in Brazil. The cost of travelling there is the same as going to three races in Europe. Instead, I'm planning to compete in the European Series."

 

He will, however, be seeking a repeat of his success in the other three events. The European Championships will take place at the same venue where he landed the 2009 world title.

 

"Praloup is familiar territory although they will change the course here and there", he added. "When you travel to a race you are always on someone's home track."

 

That means locking horns with Bruni once more, and MacLennan is also anticipating tough opposition on the domestic front, where he expects Wilson to make life difficult for him, while Rich Simpson and Jerry Twigg are also likely to challenge his superiority at a British level.

 

But preparations are going well and the man from Fort William is relishing the new season and a chance to add further to his tally of titles.