Despite the lack of domestic racing in Scotland, there was an array of action in England and further afield as the Road and MTB seasons continue to gather pace on the continent.
Flynn flies high in Croatia
Following on from a strong performance where he finished fifth in the Croatian one-day race the Poreč Trophy, Sean Flynn won Stage 1 and finished third overall in the UCI 2.2 Istrian Spring Trophy.
After a strong Prologue TT which saw the Edinburgh RC alumnus finish tenth, Flynn was part of the two-man break on Stage 1, which held the field off all the way to the finish, the Scotsman outsprinting his companion to claim his first UCI victory and Scotland’s third in 2022, as well as take the leaders jersey.
Flynn dropped to fourth on the general classification on Stage 2 after finishing 55 seconds behind his teammate, who won on the summit finish, but regained his podium finish on GC on the final stage after finishing 25th as the race finished on Sunday.
Flynn, who now races for Swiss Racing Academy, is under the watchful eye of Fabian Cancellara, who will no doubt be pleased by his team’s performance, with SRA winning the three road stages and finishing second and third on the overall general classification.
Mason and Carrick-Anderson continue strong form
Off the back of their training camp in Girona, the knobbly-tyred duo of Cameron Mason and Corran Carrick-Anderson were back on the continent at the UCI Class 1 Internazionali Crosscountry Coppa Citta Di Albenga in Italy.
For Mason it was another early season tester before the Cape Epic in South Africa this week, the Linlithgow rider will be pleased with his ride finishing 14th in Trinity Racing colours, despite suffering on the final lap and slipping back a handful of places. Meanwhile his compatriot Carrick-Anderson produced another stunning ride, to better Mason by some 30 seconds, one spot ahead in 13th.
Both riders will take encouragement from top 15 positions in an Elite field at a UCI Class 1 event, having so recently finished their respective CX seasons.
Scots go Dutch in the Netherlands
The Ribble-Weldtite duo of Stuart Balfour and Finn Crockett were showing off their new kits and new bikes as they made their debut for the UCI continental outfit at the first round of the Holland Cup – the Dorpenomloop Rupchen (1.2) in the Netherlands. The duo were joined in Rupchen by a Great Britain outfit that included European Junior Track champion Ross Birrell.
Off the back of a training camp in Calpe, Balfour’s form showed as he attacked from the peloton and was outfront in the final 30km before being caught, while Crockett finished in the main bunch – with a solid 30th place finish in his first outing as a UCI Continental rider.
Crockett and Balfour, with their Ribble-Weldtite team, are due to take to the start line on Sunday for the Gifford Road Race, the opening round of the 2022 Alba Series – which re-joins the calendar for the first time since 2020.
Juniors launch season in stormy South West
The inaugural round of the National Women’s Junior and Under 23 and the Junior Men’s Road Race Series took place in Devon on Sunday in some tough conditions that featured freezing rain and high winds.
Evie White (Deeside Thistle) rode to a great sixth place finish (fifth Junior), finishing in the main bunch that survived the 73km, with fellow Scot Morven Yeomen (Tofauti Everyone Active) also finishing in the same group in 17th.
In the Junior Men’s, the race managed to become even more fragmented with riders finishing in even smaller groups or individually, with Elijah Kwon (The Cycling Academy) coming home as the top Scot in 11th position, second from the main bunch.
Reid and Fitzsimmons impress in inaugural BMX round
Scots Cameron Reid and Ben Fitzsimmons impressed in the opening rounds of the National BMX Series in Manchester.
Reid, racing in the Superclass, finished 4th and 5th in Saturday's Motos before finishing 8th in the Semi-final, he would replicate that form in Sunday's second round.
Fitzsimmons, racing in the Male 16s, finished with a brace of seconds and a victory in Saturday's Motos before finishing second in the A final. While Sunday saw him reverse his Motos form with a brace of victories and a second; before again finishing second in the A final.
Good form from the Scots on show this early in the season.
