A strong contingent of sixteen Scots are in the French Alps this week as the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships take place in Les Gets, and so we have prepared this handy Scottish Cycling guide to keep you up to date over the week.
Wednesday 24th August
Cross Country Mixed Relay
Wednesday saw the Great Britain team of six take on the very popular new Mixed Relay format, with Elena McGorum, Isla Short and Charlie Aldridge in action – it was however marred by hearing the devasting news about the passing of teammate, colleague and friend Rab Wardell.
Peebles’ McGorum was the first of the Scots to be handed the virtual baton, as the Great Britain squad opted to place the female riders in the middle of the order and rode well against mostly Elite riders to retain a strong position for the squad.
Isla Short was the penultimate rider to take to the course and was able to make inroads to leave the squad in ninth place before passing over to fellow Birmingham competitor Charlie Aldridge. Aldridge was able to catch and pass the strong Czech outfit as the he made inroads on the riders ahead, delivering a strong start to the week for the British squad with an eighth place finish.
Thursday 25th August
Junior Women’s Cross Country
Emily Carrick-Anderson made her World Championship debut and rode to a respectable 48th place, a huge learning experience in her young career.
Downhill Qualifying
Louise Ferguson booked her place in Sunday’s final of the Elite Women’s Downhill by finishing in seventh place in qualifying, with a 4:12.799 time, while fellow Scot Mikayla Parton’s time of 4:50.434 was good enough to qualify the Scot for Sunday – despite the Fort William native taking a tumble.
In the Junior Women’s the Scottish trio all made it safely through to Sunday, with Phoebe Gale finishing best of the Scots in fifth from Aimi Kenyon in ninth, Bethany McCully just five places further back. It’s certainly all to play for on Sunday.
It was tight in the Elite Men with Greg Williamson’s time of 3:43.554 good enough for 61st place – fortunately at World Championship’s the top 80 progress, as opposed to the Top 60 at a World Cup event, meaning we’ll see Greg on Sunday. Jamie Edmondson fared better – with 42nd place enough for the Scot to make the final in his debut Elite World Champs.
In the Juniors, William Brodie sailed into Sunday’s final after a brilliant 3:40.67 which was good enough for seventh, he will be joined by Douglas Goodwill who came home in 42nd place.
Friday 26th August
Men’s E-MTB – 10:30 BST
Cameron Mason was hoping to replicate Tom Pidcock’s 2020 efforts and win the title in the Men’s E-MTB Cross Country event on Friday. The Linlithgow-native went up against former multiple Road Race World Champion Peter Sagan and defending champion Jerome Gilloux on Friday lunchtime.
The Scot put a spirited ride to come home in 17th position.
Saturday 27th August
Junior Women’s Downhill Final
Our downhill mountain bikers were on great form - Aimi Kenyon and Phoebe Gale were 4th & 7th in the Junior Women's event. Bethany McCully came home in 12th place. A very good experience for the three Scots on their World Championship debuts.
Junior Men’s Downhill Final
William Brodie claimed the British junior title in Glencoe last month and headed into his debut World Championships off the back of that, and a third-place finish in Fort William on the UCI World Cup circuit.
Douglas Goodwill has joined Brodie on the World Cup circuit this season and has been steadily improving and was hoping to do so on Saturday.
William Brodie finished in 20th position - the Scot was running as high as sixth but a fall halfway down the rough course scuppered his run in the final. Douglas Goodwill came home in 24th place.
Elite Women’s Downhill Final
After a short period in the podium hotseats it was a great ninth place for Louise Ferguson in the Elite Women's Downhill Final. The Fort William rider was cautious by her own admission but on a course that caught many out - the prudent approach paid dividend.
Mikayla Parton's ride to 18th place was her best result to date at a World Championships.
Elite Men’s Downhill Final
Saturday’s racing was rounded off by the Elite Men’s final. Scotland last claimed the rainbow jersey in 2020 when Reece Wilson spectacularly won it in Leogang. Wilson isn’t on the start list this year, as he takes a sabbatical; but two Scots will look to replicate his exploits from two years ago. We were able to hear his dulcet tones on commentary.
Greg Williamson and Jamie Edmondson were the Scots in action. Edmondson finished in 46th place on his World Championship debut suffering a crash late on in the run.
It was a similar fate for Williamson who also suffered a crash but came home to finish 68th. Both will come back stronger at the World Cup in Val di Sole next week.
Sunday 29th August
Women’s U23 Cross Country Olympic
Elena McGorum will be representing not just Scotland but all of Great Britain – as the sole GB rider in the race. The Peebles CC rider was on great form this season domestically with four wins at the Elite SXC and British XC Series events, and took inspiration from her great ride on Wednesday in the Relay to finish 45th place.
Men’s U23 Cross-Country Olympic
The U23 men’s race saw a quartet of Scots in action for Great Britain.In the under-23 men’s race, all four Scots fought hard over the six-lap course, with Cameron Mason finished the highest in 21st, Rory McGuire in 33rd, Charlie Aldridge 39th and Corran Carrick-Anderson in 75th.
Women’s Elite Cross-Country Olympic
Isla Short rounded off Scottish participation at the World Championships in the Elite Women’s Cross-Country race on Sunday lunchtime - coming home in 41st place. A tough weekend for the Scot who suffered two crashes in practice.
