A great line-up of talented Scottish riders are set to compete alongside six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny at the HSBC UK | National Track Championships in Manchester this weekend.
Men's endurance
Fresh from a successful winter of World Cups, including an outstanding ride in Glasgow, is Mark Stewart and the Scot will ride the points and scratch races at nationals. Also eager to make an impact is defending Individual Pursuit Champion John Archibald. His Huub Watt Bike team mates Kyle Gordon and Jonny Wale will join for the team pursuit and also ride the kilo. Also racing are young, up and coming talents Alfie George and Matti Dobbins.
Women's endurance
The women's endurance races will be full of Scottish females keen to show their form on the British stage. The HSBC UK Team Breeze team pursuit will likely include British National Madison Champion Jenny Holl and Best Scottish Rider from the Women's Tour of Scotland Anna Shackley. Both riders will also be riding the individual pursuit. However, Scottish National Individual Pursuit Champion Sophie Lankford will have her sights set on securing the British title which has been held by Katie Archibald for the past three years.
Women’s sprint
Scottish female sprinters continue to develop as Ellie Stone, Lusia Steele, Lucy Grant and Lauren Bell prepare to compete in the sprint, Keirin and 500m. Scotland will field two teams for the female team sprint with Lucy Grant pairing with Lusia Steele and Lauren Bell with Ellie Stone.
Male sprint:
Ali Fielding and Jack Carlin will compete against Britain’s sprinting powerhouses in the sprint events.
Speaking ahead of this weekends event, Sprint Coach David Daniell said:
"Scottish Cycling’s Sprint Performance Development Team is heads to the British National Track Championships to stand toe to toe with some of the best track sprint cyclists in the world. We have a mixed team of experience and relative newcomers to the sport who are setting their eyes on producing a performance that will see them surpass their own targets this year. Riders are making the 4 hour journey south to place a marker on the national stage within the sprint events (Sprint, Keirin, 500m and Kilometre Time Trials and Team Sprint), to place them in a position to strive for further success in 2020. There are some riders who are going to gain valuable experience and, in some cases, their very first senior race. These athletes are travelling to gain experience, and learn the process and the level needed in this age bracket. It is our job as the sprint team to encourage that developmental learning for these athletes to gain confidence to perform at these levels of competition in future. I personally am looking forward to a great weekend of racing and learning with these riders."
Are you racing the HSBC UK National Track Championships this weekend? Make sure you Tweet @ScottishCycling and share your results.
