Published: 26 July 2015
Grant Ferguson scored silver in the under-23 race at the 2015 UEC Mountain Bike Cross-country championships.
The British Cycling Olympic Podium Programme athlete completed the start loop in sixth place in touch with the front group, before cutting through the field.
By lap two the three-time British champion was up into second – just seven seconds down on Spaniard Pablo Rodriguez Guede.
Rodriguez was the favourite going into the race – having scored a first and second place in the world cup series to date – however Ferguson continued his chase.
Unfortunately it was to no avail as Rodriguez came out on top again, with a closing advantage of 20 seconds in a race that lasted one hour 27 minutes.
Ferguson had a further 20 seconds in hand over third-placed Jens Schuermans of Belgium and now sets his sights on the world cup series, which resumes next weekend in Canada.
British Cycling Senior Academy athlete Iain Paton moved up from 50th on the start loop to 22nd at the finish, making good progress throughout, while Alice Barnes finished 14th in the under-23 women’s race.
In the elite women’s race, Annie Last raced to eighth place. Last enjoyed a strong start, progressing to third.
At the end of lap one, Last was part of a group of seven riders placed second to eighth separated by just 20-seconds.
By the end of lap two this group was broken up as Last dropped to eighth position – one minute from second place.
Gaps between the elite group of riders extended as the race came to its conclusion, with Last unable to make further headway, although another top-ten finish will be reassuring going into the next two world cup races.
Juniors
After a period away from the international race circuit to focus on school exams, the junior riders on British Cycling’s Junior Academy returned to action.
Frazer Clacherty was the highest finisher, the British champion seventh in a race won by runaway world – and now European champion Simon Andreasson.
Thomas Craig finished 17th, while Mark McGuire languished in 42nd in a race marred by mechanical problems. Fionn James completed the junior women’s competition in 14th.
The junior squad resume competition with further rounds of the world series, before the world championships in September.
Results
Junior women
Junior men
Under-23 women
Under-23 men
Elite women
