An absolutely massive weekend of racing with Scots in action in Grand Tours, UCI World Series and a brace of Scottish National Championships.
MTB XC Champs
There were 17 Scottish national titles up for grabs down in Dumfries and Galloway as Ae Forest played host the Scottish National MTB Cross Country Championships.
A massive thanks to SXC (Scottish Cross Country Association) for their tireless efforts in delivering an excellent Championship.
Read the report by clicking below:
Vet Men’s RR
It was a busy day of road racing in Balfron, with the Glasgow Ivy playing host to the Scottish National Veteran Men's Road Race Champs, where there was double delight for Vanelli-Project GO.
Read the full report by clicking below:
British BMX Champs
A large contingent of Scots headed down to Derby for the 2023 British BMX Championships over the weekend with medals and British bragging rights up for grabs.
Our friends at British Cycling have written a full race report:
UCI MTB Series
The latest round of the UCI MTB World Series was held in Andorra over the weekend with 14 Scots in action between the disciplines.
Downhill
Lou Ferguson (Continental Nukeproof FR) continued the form that saw her claim fourth in Fort William, with an excellent seventh place finish in the rain at Pal Arinsal, while Phoebe Gale (Canyon Collective) came home in ninth place in the Women’s Elite field.
While fellow World Champs rider Nina-Yves Cameron came home in 15th place in the Women’s Junior field.
Cross Country
Scotland’s Under 23 Cross Country World Champion Charlie Aldridge (Cannondale FR) came home in 33rd place in the Men’s Elite race in Andorra, with the Scot also claiming 30th in Friday’s Short Track.
Isla Short (Ghost FR) finished 35th in the Women’s Elite race, while in the Under 23’s, Rory McGuire (Leslie Bikes Shop) came home in 25th place with Corran Carrick-Anderson (Trinity Racing) in 42nd place.
La Vuelta
A Grand Tour stage win isn’t something we see too often, but Team DSM with Scots Oscar Onley and Sean Flynn claimed the Stage One victory in the Team Time Trial at La Vuelta.
Unfortunately, the joy was to be short-lived as Oscar Onley, who was sitting fifth in the general classification at zero seconds, crashed out of the race on Stage Two in the treacherous conditions and suffered a broken right collarbone.
Speaking to Team DSM-firmenich afterwards, Onley said:
“I’m really disappointed to leave the race and leave the boys. I think after yesterday we were all on such a high. Obviously today is a little disappointing but I’m looking forward to watching the boys over the next couple of weeks. I think with the spirit and the legs they’ve shown so far I think they can get some really nice results. Hopefully I can be back soon and also competing for some results as soon as possible.”
We wish Oscar a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon.
Sean Flynn is still in action at La Vuelta as the raced headed into Andorra and after spending the first road stage in the King of the Mountains jersey and ending stage two in 10th place on the general classification, the Scot dropped back in the standings. The focus for Flynn will now be on the lead outs for sprinter Alberto Dainese, with the option of looking for stage wins on medium mountain stages.
Tour de l’Avenir Femmes
The first edition of what is effectively the Under 23 Tour de France Femmes got underway today with a 14.8km time trial in Sain-Vallier.
Anna Shackley (Great Britain) finished in second place on the stage, continuing her strong form shown in Glasgow.
The race lasts for five stages, and included a couple of mountain stages in the French Alps.
