Summer came early this year with some nice days in April but it was back to usual conditions for the Scottish National 10 Mile Time Trial Championships at Irvine. The times were fast though and the performances impressive.
As I headed towards Irvine for the start of the Scottish National 10 Mile Time Trial Champs I was keeping a wary eye on the lowering cloud base, in the hope that I might get one of those all-too-rare windows of opportunity. I just wanted a couple of hours, three at the most, but the tv weather forecaster hadn't been confident…and neither was I.
Coming through Dalry and Kilwinning the roads were wet but it wasn't actually raining. There was no sign of any blue in the sky though. Sure enough, just after pulling into the car-park at Eglinton Country Park, and heading over to the sign-on desk to get a copy of the start sheet, the big drops began to fall again…not too heavy at first but that kind of rain that you just know is going to continue. So, waterproofs on and cameras wrapped in rain gear, I headed off to the start where the timekeepers were just getting ready to send the first woman on her way.
As a photographer taking pictures on an out-and-back course, especially when it involves separate on and off-ramps, and with 160 riders to cater for, the challenge is always to find new, interesting and varied ways of taking those shots…or else you just end up with 160 copies of the same photograph where only the rider is different. So I shot some at the start, first roundabout, first on-ramp, on further down where the carriageway splits, and on up to the first flyover. Most of the shots are on that first on-ramp because once the last man has gone it allows me to get across to the off-ramp on the other side to catch the riders once they've finished.
I've shot there before (the season-opening Icebreaker TT) and it's a great place to see the relief on the riders' faces, knowing that the effort is over. Last time there was chatting, laughing and the beginnings of analyses of the ride. But yesterday was very different. It was indeed the race of truth, with nowhere to hide and the competitors that I saw had given their all. Most people will know the man that ran out the victor yesterday and you'll know that Iain Grant is the most approachable rider, always happy to say hello and have a chat, always ready with encouragement for other riders no matter what level they're at. He always makes a point of acknowledging me but as he passed me yesterday I don't think he was even aware I was there such was the effort that he'd given. The sweat was pouring from under his aero helmet and running off the end of his nose.
He wasn't the only one who had pushed to their limit: Arthur Doyle wiped saliva from around his mouth but still managed to give me a wave, Gordon Murdoch stopped halfway up the ramp to take a breather, the Berwick Wheelers duo of Christopher Isats and Harry Armstrong didn't look over and Alan Thomson could do no more than stick his tongue out at me. I respect all of these riders but my personal empathy was with Silas Goldsworthy. Most of you will know that Silas had a bad injury a short time ago and while he's largely recovered from that, he's lost valuable training in the meantime. All credit to him for turning out yesterday and although his time of 20:17 was good enough for 5th place on the day it wasn't the result he was looking for.
Now, the Scottish cycling community may appear like a closed shop to those who aren't cyclists but that just isn't the case…and all of these riders, while being fiercely competitive, are also very friendly towards each other. Silas is his own hardest critic and he stopped just after he'd passed me to take a moment. A bit of time to think about all the hard work he's put in over the years and how the injury may have happened at the worst possible moment. The last man to finish was Ben Peacock and he sportingly stopped to console Silas. At that point I headed back to event HQ to find out how everyone had got on. Here's how it played out.
The first 75% of the field got the worst of the weather with the Women, Juniors and Youths setting off into light rain and drizzle. While riding in the rain can often feel faster, especially when there's no real wind, there are drawbacks and lots of bikes were sporting rear flashing lights as they disappeared into the dual carriageway spray long before they would normally have been out of sight.
In the Women's race the quickest of the early starters was Toni McIntosh (Ayr Roads CC) who returned to the timekeeper in 23:36 and this was good enough for 4th place on the day. The next rider to come close was Jennie McColl (Aberdeen Wheelers CC) in a time of 24:36 (8th on the day) but this was beaten a few minutes later by Anne Ewing (WV Breda) in 24:26. Less than two minutes later, one minute 59 seconds to be precise, Lynne Wardrop (Ayr Roads CC) came home in a time of 24:25. This gave Wardrop and Ewing 6th and 7th spot when all was said and done.
The next rider to set the time sheet alight was the eventual winner Lucy Coldwell riding in her Velosport - Pasta Montegrappa kit who came home in a super time of 22:30. A few minutes later she was joined on the stat sheets by Lynsey Curran (www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk) who posted a time of 22:47, which was good enough for overall second. This just left her teammate Sian Tovey and the last woman off Anda-Jay Burgess of Rock and Road Cycles. Tovey returned in a time of 23:38 to eventually take 5th overall and Burgess managed 23:10 to finish third. Top times in trying conditions with the team prize going to www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk
Next up, and from a relatively small field, were the Juniors and Youths. Gold in the Juniors event went to Angus Claxton (Moray Firth CC) in a very impressive 22:06, which made up for the long trip south. Best position in the Youths event went to Stuart Turvey (Sandy Wallace Cycles); just inside 24 minutes in a time of 23:59. Certainly names to watch for in the future.
Now it was the turn of the men and it was at this point that the weather, which had eased off a bit, decided to take a turn for the worse. Albert McLellan (Glasgow Couriers) headed out in determined fashion (the marshal next to me said "I take it that's the end of the Youth event then") but he was quickly followed by Alastair McGibbon (Ayr Roads CC) who was looking more determined than I've seen him. He would catch McLellan, the former 12 Hour and Hill Climb champ before the turn but an impressive performance from the veteran rider nonetheless.
First rider to come home in under 22 minutes was the 5th man off, Sean Gray (www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk) who posted 21:49. He wasn't alone in that from the first 50 riders there were 14 who made it home in under 22. By this time the weather was beginning to ease once again and by the time that another 25 riders had passed me the roads were virtually dry. Traffic had increased a bit but on a course like this that's more often a benefit than a hindrance.
With just over half the field still to ride we had our first sub 21 ride and once again it came from Dooleys Race Team with Nick Tryon coming home in 20:20. This held top spot for almost an hour and a quarter and was good enough to see Tryon as part of the winning team.
Eventually it came down, as it always does, to the men who have consistently proved themselves against the clock and the first rider to better Tryon's time was Chris Smart (Paisley Velo RT) the recent winner of the Jason MacIntyre Memorial TT who finished in 20:16. Alan Thomson (Sandy Wallace Cycles) came close in 20:41 as did the Berwick Wheelers duo of Christopher Isats and Harry Armstrong who recorded 21:04 and 20:59 respectively.
It was all down to the last four riders and as they headed out onto the first section of dual carriageway they were all looking super-fit. Arthur Doyle (www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk) is a big guy but he still manages to adopt a very aero position on his Cervelo and wearing an all black Assos skin suit he really looked like he meant business. Next up was Iain Grant (www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk) who always has a very focused look but a seemingly stress-free pedaling style. Then Silas Goldsworthy (Sandy Wallace Cycles) who outwardly looked as if he'd completed recovered from his recent injury. Last man up was defending champion Ben Peacock (Paisley Velo RT) who looked almost relaxed as he fired down towards the main carriageway.
Not having a clock on the riders I headed round to the off-ramp and picked them up as they finished. Arthur Doyle looked like a rider that had given pretty much everything. It was difficult to call between him and Iain Grant and Grant passed me in what felt like two minutes later but I then had to wait a little longer before I saw Goldsworthy and as he stopped at the side of the road it was definitely not another two minutes before Peacock rolled up beside him.
By the time I'd reached the event HQ and gotten rid of the wet-weather gear, the times had been just about confirmed; Iain Grant had retaken the title in a time of 19:40 followed by Arthur Doyle in 19:55 with Ben Peacock at 19:59. Chris Smart took fourth spot in 20:16 and Silas Goldsworthy finished fifth in 20:17. Dooleys Cycles took the Men's Team prize (Grant, Doyle and Tryon) to add to that of the Women's so all-in-all an excellent day for the club from Paisley.
Once again, another excellent event organised on what the new champion believes to be the fastest 10 course in Scotland. The team at Glasgow Couriers put on a top event and the inclusion of a coffee tent at the start courtesy of Cafe2U was a nice idea.
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Womens Scottish 10 Mile TT Championships 2014
1 1st Lucy Coldwell Velosport - Pasta Montegrappa 22.30
2 2nd Lynsey Curran www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 22.47
3 3rd Anda-Jay Burgess Rock And Road Cycles 23.10
4 Toni McIntosh Ayr Roads Cycling Club 23.36
5 Sian Tovey www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 23.38
6 Lynne Wardrop Ayr Roads Cycling Club 24.25
7 Anne Ewing WV Breda 24.26
8 Jennie McColl Aberdeen Wheelers CC 24.36
9 Catherine Logan Walkers Cycling Club 25.17
10 Valerie Martin www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 25.28
11 Jenni Nicholson Sandy Wallace Cycles 26.30
12 Isobel Fletcher Glasgow Whls 27.20
13 Debra Pollard West Lothian Clarion CC 27.24
14 1st jun Keira Johnston Glasgow Cycle Team 28.02
15 Cathy Barlow Royal Albert CC 28.10
16 Fiona Walker Walkers Cycling Club 28.13
17 1st youth Eleanor Strathdee Edinburgh RC 29.09
18 Jennifer Nicol Fullarton Wheelers 30.25
Kara Griffiths Deeside Thistle CC DNS
Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds CC DNS
Laura Nicolson Moray Firth Cycling Club DNS
Victoria Hunter Sandy Wallace Cycles DNS
1st Team
Lynsey Curran www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 46.25
Sian Tovey www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk
Juniors and Youths 10 mile TT
1 Jun Angus Claxton Moray Firth Cycling Club 22.06
2 Jun Martin Edgar Lomond Roads CC 23.56
3 Jun Stuart Paterson Glasgow Couriers 24.10
4 Jun Craig Forsyth Gala Cycling Club 24.11
5 Jun Gavin Laffoley Fife Century RC 25.46
Jun Neil Fleming East Sutherland Wheelers DNS
1 Youth Stuart Turvey Sandy Wallace Cycles 23.59
2 Youth Michael Bibby Aberdeen Wheelers CC 28.26
3 Youth Fraser Paterson Glasgow Couriers 29.16
Mens Scottish 10 Mile TT Championships 2014
1 1st Iain Grant www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 19.40
2 2nd Arthur Doyle www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 19.55
3 3rd Benjamin Peacock Paisley Velo Race Team 19.59
4 Chris Smart Paisley Velo Race Team 20.16
5 Silas Goldsworthy Sandy Wallace Cycles 20.17
6 Nick Tryon www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 20.20
7 Alan Thomson Sandy Wallace Cycles 20.41
8 Alan Holmes Johnstone Wheelers CC 20.44
9 James Cusick www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 20.54
10 Ewan Taylor Perth United Cycling Club 20.59
11 Harry Armstrong Berwick Wheelers CC 20.59
12 Joe Nicolson Aberdeen Wheelers CC 21.00
13 Christopher Isats Berwick Wheelers CC 21.04
14 Gerry McGarrity Paisley Velo Race Team 21.06
15 Peter Ettles Sandy Wallace Cycles 21.10
16 Duncan Ewing TheBicycleWorks 21.11
17 Thomas Gordon www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.12
18 Gary Robson Gala Cycling Club 21.14
19= Gavin Shirley www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.15
19= Iain Elliott West Lothian Clarion CC 21.15
21 David McLellan www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.17
22 John Dunlop Loudoun RC 21.18
23 Kenneth Darling Hawick CC 21.19
24 Andy Cowie Highland Bikes Racing Team 21.22
25 Kenneth Armstrong Ayr Roads Cycling Club 21.29
26 Stephen Cairns Perth United Cycling Club 21.30
27 Paul McLafferty Glasgow Ivy CC 21.34
28 Iain Duguid TheBicycleWorks 21.36
29 Jason Barnes Glasgow Nightingale CC 21.39
30 Callum Finlayson Moray Firth Cycling Club 21.42
31 Michael Robb Ayr Roads Cycling Club 21.43
32= James Tree www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.44
32= Derek McMillan St Christopher's CC 21.44
34 Neil Walker Walkers Cycling Club 21.48
35 Sean Gray www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.49
36= Graham Barclay Leslie Bike Shop/Bikers Boutique 21.51
36= Andrew Scorey Berwick Wheelers CC 21.51
38 Billy McFarlane www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 21.53
39 Brian Muir Pro-AM Racing Club 21.54
40 Graeme Hay Stirling Bike Club 21.55
41 Ross Dymock Glasgow Green Cycle Club 21.58
42 Sadiq Mir West Lothian Clarion CC 22.00
43 Scott Newman Glasgow Couriers 22.02
44 Andrew Scott Musselburgh RCC 22.03
45 Chris Stewart Classic Racing Team 22.06
46= Stuart Whitelaw Lomond Roads CC 22.09
46= James Hall Rock And Road Cycles 22.09
46= John Paterson Classic Racing Team 22.09
49 Mark Skilling Icarus Racing 22.10
50 Stewart Gordon Dunfermline CC 22.11
51 Angus Wilson Dundee Thistle RC 22.12
52 Paul Gibson Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.15
53= Alastair McGibbon Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.16
53= Gordon Murdoch Icarus Racing 22.16
55 Cameron Scade Dumfries CC 22.18
56 Graeme Cockburn Glasgow Nightingale CC 22.20
57 Jon Clarke Glasgow Whls 22.23
58 Michael Curran Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.25
59 Keith Johnston 22.26
60= Hyland Hamilton Glasgow Couriers 22.30
60= Ian King Velocity 44 Stirling 22.30
62= David Millar Glasgow Couriers 22.31
62= Douglas Kirkham Musselburgh RCC 22.31
64 Jonny May Edinburgh RC 22.32
65 Andrew Strathdee Edinburgh RC 22.33
66 Martin Wilson VC Glasgow South 22.34
67 Kevin Brown Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.35
68 William Bunyan Dunfermline CC 22.37
69 Norman Skene Velocity 44 Stirling 22.50
70= Brian Nicol Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.51
70= Alistair Meikle Gala Cycling Club 22.51
70= James Meek Leslie Bike Shop/Bikers Boutique 22.51
73 Robert Kelly Ayr Roads Cycling Club 22.52
74 Graham Barron Glasgow Road Club 22.54
75 George Shanley Kinross CC 22.56
76 Frederick Connor VC Glasgow South 23.01
77 David Johnston Gala Cycling Club 23.04
78 Ronnie Graham Law Wheelers CC 23.06
79= Richard Graveling Stirling Bike Club 23.09
79= John Anderson Glasgow Road Club 23.09
81 David Beattie Hawick CC 23.11
82 Charles Adams VC Glasgow South 23.16
83 Andrew Kilpatrick Team Right Move Windows 23.21
84 Sandy Wallace Sandy Wallace Cycles 23.23
85 Wilson Kane East Kilbride Road Club 23.29
86 Geoff Smith Glasgow Couriers 23.31
87 Hector Nicolson Moray Firth Cycling Club 23.36
88 Graham Jones Edinburgh RC 23.38
89 Eric Davidson Moray Firth Cycling Club 23.46
90= Andrew Spruce Sandy Wallace Cycles 23.48
90= David Wards West Lothian Clarion CC 23.48
92= Ian Anderson Walkers Cycling Club 23.58
92= Stephen Malaney Glasgow Couriers 23.58
94 Neil Shepherd Gala Cycling Club 23.59
95 Tony Nugent East Kilbride Road Club 24.01
96 John Johnstone Icarus Racing 24.19
97 Albert McLellan Glasgow Couriers 24.27
98 Bob Taylor www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 24.34
99 Brian Thomson Leslie Bike Shop/Bikers Boutique 24.35
100 Alan Solway Kennoway RC 24.54
101 Stuart Donaghy Lomond Roads CC 25.07
102 Fred Turvey Sandy Wallace Cycles 25.19
103 Frazer Grant Glasgow Couriers 25.27
104 Stephen Begen East Kilbride Road Club 26.09
105 Edwin Nelson Glasgow Couriers 26.20
Craig McGowan Pedal Power RT DNF
Paul Friel Glasgow Road Club DNF
Ricky Sutherland Icarus Racing DNF
Mark Ewing West Lothian Clarion CC DNS
William Cummings Glasgow Couriers DNS
Sean Gordon Team Thomsons Cycles DNS
David Turnbull North Argyll Cycle Club DNS
Frank Anderson West Lothian Clarion CC DNS
Steven Liddle Ben Wyvis Cycle Club DNS
Robert McLean Angus Bike Chain DNS
Christopher Staples Fullarton Wheelers DNS
Andrew Prenelle Icarus Racing DNS
Ian Sim Paisley Velo Race Team DNS
Ian Humphreys Sandy Wallace Cycles DNS
Barrie McCutcheon www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk DNS
Scottish Team Record
1 1st Team Iain Grant www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk 59.55
1 Arthur Doyle www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk
1 Nick Tryon www.Dooleys-Cycles.co.uk
