The sun was shining all across Scotland over the weekend, which saw the latest rounds of Mountain Bike series' in Glasgow and Glenshee.
SXC Series
Cathkin Braes played host to round four of the SXC Series. Each race on Sunday was preceded by an applause to remember John Morton – most commonly known as Fish – who sadly passed away last week.
A tireless volunteer, Fish was a massive contributor to mountain biking in Scotland and was a true legend of the sport, and we at Scottish Cycling would like to send our deepest condolences to his friends and family.
In the Elite Female race, Joanne Thom (TORQ Performance) claimed the victory, her second of the series, on the very dry and dusty course. Thom won by 45 seconds from Grace Inglis (Muckle CC) in second and Jane Barr (Velocity 44 RT) in third
Lewis Martin (Studio Velo) led from start to finish as he rode away from the field in the Elite Male race to win by over four minutes from Thomas Girsch in second place. Hamish Crebar (Ryan’s Bike Surgery) came home in third a minute further back.
Ruan Vorster (West Lothian Clarion) just edged out Evan Mckenzie (Rotor RT) to claim the win in the Junior race by 16 seconds, while Finlay Taylor (Royal Albert CC) came home in third. The trio had swapped the lead a number of times throughout, but it was Vorster who managed to make it two wins on the bounce in Glasgow’s southside.
Daisy Wilkinson (Scotia Offroad RT) rode to the win in Youth Girls from Freya Mowbray (Scotia Offroad RT) in second and Freya Gibson (Peebles CC) in third.
In the Youth boys, it was another win for the Innes McDonald (Scotia Offroad RT) his fourth from as many rounds, which seals the series honours for the former Edinburgh RC rider. Sam Ferry (Peebles CC) produced a strong performance in second, while Finlay Barr (Royal Albert CC) was in third.
Xander Graham (Scott Racing) claimed the win in the Juvenile boys, just besting Zach Buchan (Pentland Racers), with Joel Gillan in third. Orla Burn (West Lothian Clarion) won the girls’ event, with clubmate Mairi Dowens in second and Emma Hall (Pentland Racers) in third.
The final round of the SXC Series doubles up as the Scottish National MTB Championships and takes place on Sunday 26th August.
SDA Series – Round #3
The mountains surrounding Glenshee are a stunning backdrop, and it fit the bill perfectly in the beating sunshine of Sunday afternoon for round three of the Scottish Downhill Association series.
Fastest time of the day was Charlie McIver in the Senior category with a 2:02.740 on his first run of the day, with the Elite riders Drew Carters (SDA) coming home just a mere seven and eleven hundredths of a second behind with times of 2:02.810 and 2:02.850 respectively.
The quickest female riders came in the Junior ranks with Heather Wilson’s 2:21.909 being enough to claim the win, with Megan Horne in second with 2:27.642. Jessica Wipat (Tay Titans) rounded off the podium with a 2:33.821.
In the junior male category, Marlon Whitehead claimed the win after the second run with a 2:10.5, narrowly snatching the win off Noah McLefatrick, who led after Run one. Matthew Copp (Deeside Thistle) was within a second of the duo in third.
In the boys U16’s, Sorley Swabey (West Highland Wheelers) produced a storming 2:04.1 to take the win with an excellent first run. Creag Muir (Black Isle MTBC) was a second back in second, while Fraser Paterson (Deeside Thistle) took third.
Drummond Trophy
Unfortunately, the latest round of the Alba Series – the Drummond Trophy - was abandoned after a crash early in the race.
We are in contact with the event organiser and the team at Glenmarnock Wheelers to explore alternative options to re-arrange the race.
We wish the riders affected in the crash a speedy recovery!
La Thuile
The Scottish Cycling Performance squad were off to the Italian Alps for an MTB XC race weekend at La Thuile.
A great development weekend on a tough World Cup level course at the .HC event which formed part of the UCI Junior Series.
Anna Flynn (Spectra-Cannondale) rode to a very strong 17th place in the Elite race, with Sam Chisholm (The Cycling Academy) riding to 45th in the Men’s Elite field.
In the juniors, Reuben Oakley was the best of the Scots and came home in 33rd place, while Finn Mason, Ben Allan and Milo McIntosh came home in the midfield.
France
Some late news today from the WorldTour Criterium du Dauphine, a crucial race in preparation toward the Tour de France, where Oscar Onley (Team DSM) rode to an excellent eighth place finish on Stage 2, which raises the Kelso rider into the top 20 on the general classification, just a mere 10 seconds from the maillot jaune.
Sticking in France, Alfie George (Vendeé-U) was on good form at the Ronde de l’Oise scoring a top five stage result on the third stage, as he rode in support teammates.
A race to keep your eyes peeled on this week is the UCI 2.2 Tour d’Eure-et-Loir, as George will be racing against fellow Discovery Junior alumnus Mark Stewart (Bolton Equities-Black Spoke) and Logan Maclean (AG2R Citroen U23) in the three-day race in the Loire Valley.
