A raft of talented young Scottish track riders made the most of the home turf advantage as the 2021 National Youth and Junior Track Championships took place at the Emirates Arena from the 25th-29th July.
Iona Moir enjoyed a memorable few days on the boards as she collected two British junior titles, the former in the 500m TT and the latter in the Keirin, a silver medal in the sprint event an added bonus. The SES Racing rider was chased hard throughout by compatriot Kirsty Johnson (Edinburgh RC), who bagged silver and bronze herself in the Keirin and 500m respectively.
For Moir though, it wasn’t just about the medals, as she broke the Scottish record in the sprint event (flying 200m) and the British record in the 500m with a stunning 34.834 clocking.
Of her 500m effort, Moir said:
“I’m super happy to take the win today, along with breaking the British record – the hardest two laps I have ever ridden!”
Ross Birrell (Spokes RT) was another of the standout performers, picking up a brace of medals as well as two new Scottish records. A time of 1.02.542 saw the talented track man secure silver in the Kilo, whilst his 3.18.200 record in the 3km Individual Pursuit saw him finish just off the podium in fourth.
He wrapped up a fine few days by teaming up with another recent Scottish junior record breaker, Daniel Kain, to take silver in the Madison. Kain recently set a new national record on the road over the 10 mile distance, the Spokes pair having a fine race inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
There was further success in the Junior Women’s equivalent, Eilidh Shaw and Morven Yeoman (Tofauti Everyone Active) teaming up to take bronze, whilst earlier in the week Imani Pereira-James (Brother U.K - Cycle Team OnForm) secured a medal of the same colour in the Points Race.
In the Youth categories there was yet more success for the Moir family, Calum winning no fewer than four medals, a remarkable effort from the young man riding for Welwyn Wheelers. Showing great versatility, Calum took gold in the Sprint and Points Race, silver in the Madison and bronze in the 500m. It again ran in the family on the female side, Sarah Johnson (Edinburgh RC) the best Scottish performer, fourth place in the Sprint her best result.
A big thanks goes to Ben Proctor and Carole O’Hare from Glasgow Track Racing Club for bringing the event to Glasgow during such challenging times for event organisers.
