A relatively warm but rather damp Forfar saw the return of Scotland’s Time Trial specialists for the 2019 Scottish National 25-mile Time Trial Championships.  Dundee Thistle RC celebrating their 90th year did another fantastic job of hosting the event, despite the inclement condition.

The weather may not have been ideal but it didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the riders or slow their pace. Despite a tailwind on the first leg of the course, the homeward leg would prove testing for many on this rolling course.

The first riders off were the non-Championship Youth A trio of Jack McManus (Royal Albert CC), Cameron Stromberg (Deeside Thistle CC) and Daniel Kain (Squadra Scozzese), heading off in that order.  The organisers had the seeding absolutely spot on, with Kain romping home in a time of 00:54:13, an improvement of over a minute on his time in last year’s event. Stromberg came home in 01:07:14 and McManus in 01:08:07.  Next to go was the beginning of the Championship categories; Junior rider Kyle Cartmell (RT23) who was unchallenged on the day, coming home exactly a minute quicker than the previous year in a time of 00:55:24.

Next up were the Senior Women and last year’s winner Vicky Smith (AeroCoach) was favourite to add another win to her already successful season, having already bagged the 10-Mile TT title recently.  Her main challenger, Catriona MacGillivray (RT23) won the title back in 2017 but took 2018 off to become a mum. They would be the only riders to come home in under an hour, but their fight for the top spot was not the only battle going on, as the tussle for third couldn’t have been any closer. Just 1 second separated Dooleys Cycles team mates Laura Nicolson and Mireille Captieux in the end, with Captieux snatching third recording 1:00:48.

Meanwhile MacGillivray came home in a blistering 00:55:02 and had a short wait to see if she’d done enough for gold. Smith, last woman off, did her best to retain her title, but had to settle for second, recording 00:55:25, 22 secs behind a delighted MacGillivray.

MacGillivray also led RT 23 team mate, Pamela Craig to a new Scottish Cycling National 25 mile TT record of 1:56:26, shaving 47secs off the previous record set in 2009 as well as the team prize.

As the rain intensified, it was time for the senior men to decide their title.

First man, or rather men, to beat the 1 hour, was the tandem pairing of Nigel Holl (Stirling Bike Club) and Steve Clayton (RT23) with a 00:54:47. They didn’t hold the hot seat for long though, with Jamie Kennedy (GTR Return To Life) coming home in 00:54:02. However despite a good 30 mins at the top of the board, Kennedy wouldn’t be stepping onto the podium.

The conditions continued to take its toll on the field, with one of the pre-race favourites, Liam Beaty (Hawick CC) taking a fall at the turn in slippery conditions, dropping him out of contention.

David Griffiths (Bioracer-Moriarty Bikes), used the drama in his favour, recording the first sub 50 mins of the day with 00:49:24, superb for the conditions and was looking a tough time to beat.  However his time in the hot seat was short lived as next man in, Wilson Renwick promptly snatched the lead from Griffiths, by 8 seconds, recording a time of 00:49:16.

The countdown was on, with just 5 riders left on course, Renwick was looking good for a medal, as none could better his time, or so it seemed. Last year’s winner Kyle Gordon (RT23) was last man out and despite the conditions and the fierce competition crossed the line with a time of 00:48:53 to retain his title and leaving Renwick to pick up the silver and Griffiths the bronze.

Taking the men’s team prize and helping make it a clean sweep for RT23 were Alistair Munro and Alan Thompson, along with event winner Kyle Gordon. 

It was another great day of racing, full of drama, thrills, and the odd spill. Thanks to the volunteers, marshals and everyone from Dundee Thistle RC who made it happen.

Results:

Senior Women

1.               Catriona MacGillivray (RT23) - 00:55:02

2.               Vicky Smith (AeroCoach) - 00:55:25

3.               Mireille Captieux (Dooleys Cycles) - 1:00:48.

4.               Laura Nicolson (Dooleys Cycles) - 1:00:49.

5.               Pamela Craig (RT 23) - 1:01:24

Senior men

1.               Kyle Gordon (RT23) - 00:48:53

2.               Wilson Renwick (Java Partizan Pro Cycling Team) -00:49:16

3.               David Griffiths (Bioracer-Moriarty Bikes) - 00:49:24

4.               Iain MacLeod (Aberdeen Wheelers) - 00:50:12

5.               Joe Reilly (Wheelbase Cabtech) - 0:50:12

Junior Men.

1.Kyle Cartmell (RT23)

Youth Men.

1.               Daniel Kain (Squadra Scozzese) - 0:54:13