It was a day of fine margins in Forfar, as some 31 teams contested the Scottish National Team Time Trial Championships on a rolling course.
The women’s championship served up a nail-biting finish, as despite a race distance of 36 miles, the top two were separated by just 13 seconds at the finish.
The weather was overcast with some moisture hanging in the air for the early starters, but with no perceptible wind if stood still; however as he day went on, there was a welcome tailwind developed on the lumpy back-straight and the run for home.
It was a masterly performance from the Torvelo Racing A team containing Sharon Bird, Harriet Wilson, Catriona Lockie and Scottish Cycling board member Fiona Cockburn; they stayed focused all the way, were tight in their changes and knew their position on the road. In the end it was a well-deserved win, especially considering they were all on conventional road bikes and not specific time trial machines.
Joining them on the podium were Vanelli-Project GO A and B teams, both producing strong rides, especially their A team, who came so close to the title, and perhaps would have been even closer were it not for their rhythm being momentarily disrupted by some slow-moving traffic - such is the way with open road racing.
Torvelo’s winning time was 1.20.43, but away from the podium it was a welcome sight to see a number of teams, from all over the country, giving this discipline a go for the first time. A big thanks should be extended to Martin Harris and his team of volunteer marshals for staging this event, as we continue the return to racing.
The men’s race was just as exciting as the women’s, with the hot seating being occupied by a number of different teams throughout the morning’s proceedings, before eventual champions, Ryan’s Bike Surgery-Thomson Homes, took it up and never relinquished their position at the top of the leaderboard.
That team, consisting of Silas Goldsworthy, Raymond Wilson, Andrew Underwood and Hamish Creber stopped the clock in 1.04.30, to eventually win by some 29 seconds. One of the last teams to go, Kelpies Racing would deliver an impressive display, that quartet of Jamie Davidson, Iain Macleod, Tom Gelati and Martin Reynolds, the only other team to finish inside the 65-minute mark with a 1.04.59 time, good for silver on the day.
Bronze went the way of an experienced Vanelli-Project GO outfit, who finished exactly a minute behind the runners-up.
The men’s race proved to be a fine tribute to the late Sandy Wallace, as a race run in his memory was won by the very team he would have been there to support. As the podium presentations were made, Silas Goldsworthy used his moment on the top step to thank everyone for coming out and racing so hard in Sandy’s memory, a fitting end to a great day of racing.
