Published on: 17 September 2012
Article: Laura Irwin
Day 4 - Sunday 16th September
Yet another early start for the Scotland riders today for the team sprint and team pursuit on the last day of competition.
It kicked off with the girls Flora and Lulu in heat 2. First man was Lulu who notched up a 1st lap of 22.897 leaving the way for Flora to bring it home in a time of 40.088. Unfortunately the commissaries spied a change outside the permitted zone and Scotland were relegated.
The boys un-phased from what had just happened stepped up. Zak, Stuart & Hamish took to the track with Zak as first man. Zak lead them out with a first split of 21.195 making way for Hamish to deliver and Stuart to bring it home in a time of 54.408 placing them 10th.
After the break saw the start of the team pursuits. Girls stepped up in heat 4 and set the standard for things to come. After a bit of confusion from the commissaires who forgot to ring the bell for the last lap the girls didn't let it affect them and notched up the quickest time so far of 2.45.430 seeing them after the 12 heats finishing in 7th position.
Stuart, Hamish and Zak were up next with one man down due to Sean's injury however this did not deter them as they went in heat 1. Zak lead them out being considerate with the pace as both Stuart and Hamish were feeling the tiredness in the legs from the Madison the night before. Even with only 3 riders they finished in 11th position in a time of 3.42.807.
Overall after the 3 days of competition, Scotland kept their 10th position.
On behalf of the team staff - well done to all Scotland riders
Day 3 - Saturday 15th September
An early rise played into the hands of the Scotland team perfectly today as the riders woke with one mission - bike racing!
After a well instructed warm up by coach Kevin, the riders took to the track with ease in the Keirin. Flora blew away the rest of the field making it straight through to the final. To join her was Lulu, finishing 1st in her reps.
Then came the final - Flora lead it out behind the derny straight through to the final 2 laps only to be pipped to the bronze finishing in 5th. Lulu dug deep but couldn't quite find enough to pull through to finish in 8th. Both girls did an excellent job!
Then to the boys - an accident in the 1st heat saw Sean injured and taken to hospital for some stitches in his knee. Sadly this put an end to his racing for the weekend. Un-interrupted with what had just taken place with his team mate, Hamish stepped up in his heat to put up what was a gruelling fight to get to the final finishing 16th.
Lulu was up in the 500TT and rode the ride of her life with a new personal best time of 41.397 which placed her 6th overall and the smiles when leaving the track said it all!
Due to Sean's injury, Hamish swapped from the 500TT to the Madison with Stuart and left it to Zak to pull the Scot's through. He did just that - with a time of 38.057 which placed him 16th in what was a very quick sprint race.
As if the riders hadn't had enough excitement for the day their was one event still to come - the Madison. Flora and Emma took to the track in what was to be Emma's first Madison race. Flora being more experienced in this event out the two girls lead her team mate through to seamless changeovers and 8th place. It was a highly charged and very fast race featuring some of the best youth riders in the country, however the girls stuck to what they knew and in the end it paid off.
Having just watched from the rollers the girls race it was time for Stuart and Hamish. Just like the girls, the boys were up against some if the best riders in the country but again, dug deep, kept with it and with seamless changeovers finished in 11th place.
Overall, the best day on the track so far for the young riders and those top 10 finishes meant they moved Scotland up a place to 10th going into the last day with the team sprint and team pursuit still to come.
Day 2 - Friday 14th September
The kids managed to squeeze an extra hour in bed since the racing wasn't due to start until 11am. This was a welcome lie in for what was a full and intense day of sprint and endurance racing.
First up was Flora and Emma in the sprint and in the qualifier saw Flora notch up a personal best of 13.548 for her flying 200m. She carried this high standard on through the rounds meeting her fellow team mate Emma in the semi final. Both girls played a game of cat and mouse until Flora took the jump 1 lap to go. Emma couldn't quite catch the gap meaning Flora took the win just ahead of Emma. Heading into the finals both Flora and Emma received some sound advice from coach Kevin before meeting their matches. Flora took on the fight for 5th/6th and caught her opponent off guard to take on the sprint with a lap to go. She took the win with ease and finished 5th. Emma held her own until her competitor took the sprint on with 2 laps to go. The gap was just that little bit too big to catch and Emma finished 8th.
Next up was the boys - Zak and Sean. Both boys had a magnificent sprint race and thanked coach Kevin for his advice. Zak being at his first Inter- Regional competition and had never competed in match sprints before took it all in his stride winning all 3 of his matches to take 17th place. Sean followed suit winning 2 out his 3 matches to finish 14th.
The endurance races took it's toll on the Scottish kids. Stuart met his target for the day - to get some points in the points race - he did just that picking up 2 points in his points race to finish in 20th place alongside Hamish finishing 16th. The scratch race saw Stuart and Hamish finish in the middle of the bunch in 14th and 15th.
Lulu took to the track in both the Scratch and the Points races to finish 21st and 22nd respectfully.
Tomorrow sees the start of the Keirin, Pursuit, Time Trial and Madison.
Day 1 - Thursday 13th September
The Inter regional Track team set off from the Scottish Cycling Office on what was a very cold morning. The van was loaded with equipment and we headed off into the long 8 hour journey to Wales.
The team consisting of Sean Noon, Stuart Balfour, Hamish Carrick, Zak Loney, Emma Borthwick, Lulu Bartlett and Flora Gillies arrived at Newport Velodrome in time to get a quick half hour spin on the rollers to loosen those tired legs before heading to the hotel for dinner.
After some team talk and a debate in which song they wanted as their 'anthem' for the duration of the event the riders, weary from the travel, headed to their rooms to prepare for day 1 of racing.
