It was the national championship that so very nearly didn’t happen. A late cancellation of the original event meant that it would have been extremely difficult to reschedule but, even before the cancellation was official, Sandy Wallace was working on a rescue plan. And, helped by an army of volunteers, that rescue plan went into operation yesterday and we were treated to a superb running of the Scottish National Team Time Trial Championships.

The date change inevitably meant that some teams couldn’t make it but it was a pretty big field that took to the roads around Freuchie. Heading up from the west, the rain had been hammering down during the night but it looked like the riders would be treated to ever-drying conditions…and so it proved with the rain staying away all day but the wind blowing steadily.

The route was an interesting mix of long, gently undulating straights and quiet, lumpy small B roads. The riders headed north away from the starter and straight towards the fast and scary Melville Lodges Roundabout. Straight through this one but the riders would see it two times more as they entered the second loop and again when the made the turn south and headed for home. The marshals here were superb and kept everything flowing nicely. A sharp left at the Parbroath Crossroads, manned by Alan from Sandy Wallace Cycles who had come prepared with a flask and a packet of British Pudding sweets, saw the riders onto quieter and bumpier roads. Another left through Lindores on the off-camper corner and then the riders tackled the short ascent before the long run down to the dangerous junction back onto the A91. Fast and undulating back to the Melville Lodges in time to do it all again.

First team off was the B Women’s team from Stirling BC, consisting of Carole Dick, Helen Paxton-Steele and Beth Clayton and they took the Parbroath turn carefully, heeding advice from the marshal about the slightly slippy surface. They were soon followed by a new squad consisting of Fleur Stoops and Christina Murray from GGCC and Lyndsey Carson of Thomsons riding as Velocio-BAMS…we’ll keep an eye out and see if this is a new team for 2016.

Next through were the A Women from Stirling BC and they were looking in top form. Katherine Wren, Rosalind Carey and Christine Fischer were riding well together and would eventually post a time of 1:29:08 which would see them take the Bronze medal position, albeit with the 4^th fastest Women’s time.

They were followed by three women all wearing black skinsuits and representing Pro-Endurance. Emma Lamont, Claire Cosy and Rosemary Haddock were riding a great TTT, close, fast and efficient and set the top time on the day with a superb 1:23:20. This was a clear win in the Women’s race and put them inside the top twenty overall but with the Championship also at stake they were ineligible to take a medal. Still, they have to be happy coming home over a minute and a half up on such quality opposition.

They were followed through by Emma Borthwick, Mireille Captieux and Jane Stevenson of the Edinburgh Road Club and the women in red again showed their class by finishing in 1:25:48 to take the third fastest time and fill the Silver medal positions. This left the RC Cumbernauld and Kilsyth team of Lindsay Branston, Nicola Smith and Jen Mason as the second last women’s team and they were riding well together. The red club colours certainly stand out and although they finished in 5^th, and just one place off the podium, there’s certainly more to come from this team.

Last to go, and favourites for the title was the team from Ayr Roads CC comprising Toni McIntosh, Lynne Wardrop and Janet Erskine. These riders have been winning races and medals all year long but there’s always room for more trophies. They’re all accomplished riders in their own right but with Wardrop and McIntosh also teaming up for races like the Icebreaker they know well each other’s riding styles. They were fast and efficient and, as is always the way, they made it look all-too-easy. They came home in a time of 1:24:57 and although it was only 2^nd fastest on the day, they took home more gold medals and another title…we’re sure they’ll be watching the women from Pro-Endurance in the future though.

Onto the Men’s race and we’d relocated to a stretch just before Lindores and as the teams came by some were already having to dig deep to stay together. The wind had been blowing from behind the teams on the initial run-out but now it was a cross/headwind and gusting around making things tough. Some teams had also been caught out with road-works on the way to the event and a couple of teams were a rider down to start with. The Ayr Roads B team was looking very good and Edward Clifton, Simon Woodliff, Paul Gibson and Kenneth Armstrong would go on to eclipse their A squad and finish 7^th overall. Another team looking good were the riders from Synergy Cycles in their matching POC helmets and they would eventually finish 8^th.

We’d moved to the little loch just after Lindores and the first squad to come through was the B team from Pro Vision Cycle Clothing. This was a new team comprising Richard McDonald with new signings Kyle Johnston, Greg Brown (riding his first TT) and Harry Johnson (on a maximum gear of 48x13) and they put in a storming performance. It would have been good enough for 4^th overall if they hadn’t been disqualified for crossing the white line. All of the riders had been warned about the tricky junction back onto the fast A91 and the Pro Vision riders fell foul of this restriction. They weren’t too downhearted in the end because their ride showed a bagful of promise.

Now we were getting towards the favourites and we’d been told that Silas Goldsworthy of Sandy Wallace Cycles was struggling with a sore throat and that the Pro Vision A team were tipped to take the title. The Sandy Wallace riders have stacked up the medals this year and the team included Scottish 25 and 50 Champion Alan Thomson, and Worlds Masters supremo Peter Ettles. Fast and tight the whole way round, with Goldsworthy hanging on until the final dash for the line, they came home in a time of 1:11:08 to take the Bronze position…Allan Mill sporting a natty pair of tartan shorts for the prizegiving.

There was another team looking composed and efficient and you can never discount a squad from Dooleys RT…they’ve been on podiums consistently for the last few years and any Dooleys team will always come under the ‘race favourites’ title. Jim Cusick always has a smile on his face but this belies the effort being applied below the surface and he led his team of Gavin Shirley, Paul Lafferty and David Gibson home a short time after the team of Sandy Wallace Cycles. It was going to be a close-run thing and in the end the Paisley team bettered the Inverkeithing squad by just 4-seconds to take Silver in 1:11:04.

Both teams had ridden excellent races but the winners had already crossed the line. The early prediction had proved correct and the Pro Vision A team of Jason Roberts, David Griffiths, Rob Friel and John Archibald was already back at the hall getting changed…the riders themselves were unaware that they’d won but the delight was obvious when we told them the unconfirmed times. The team had looked good all the way around and, just like the women’s winners, the fastest teams always make it look effortless, smoothly riding through and off, only breaking the line in the 4-man sprint for the finish.

It was an excellent time of 1:08:31 to take the title of Scottish National Team Time Trial Champions for 2015 and their sponsor Steve Joughin later said, “…it’s been an outstanding year for the guys in Scotland. This PV thing only started 12-months ago with one rider.” The team has big plans for 2016 so watch this space!

All that was left was to thank all those involved who brought this Championship to Fife with the lion’s share of the credit going to Sandy Wallace himself…now he can get back to working on his tan!

One more National to come so stay tuned for all the action from the Cyclocross at Irvine in November!

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Results:

SCOTTISH TEAM TIME TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 – RESULT SHEET

Womens TTT Result

Pro Endurance		1:23:20
Ayr Roads CC		1:24:57
Edinburgh Road Club		1:25:48
Stirling Bikes A		1:29:08
RC Cumbernauld & Kilsyth		1:31:58
Velocio_BAMS		1:33:52
Stirling Bike Club B		1:42:57

Gold Medal – Ayr Roads CC (Erskine, McIntosh, Wardrop) – 1:24:57

Silver Medal – Edinburgh RC(Borthwick, Captieux, Stevenson) – 1:25:48

Bronze Medal – Stirling Bike Club (Carey, Fischer, Wren) – 1:29:08

Mens TTT Result

Pro Vision Cycling - A		1:08:31
Dooleys RT		1:11:04
Sandy Wallace Cycles		1:11:08
Edinburgh RC		1:12:40
Icarus Racing		1:13:05
Dundee Thistle		1:13:31
Ayr Roads CC - B		1:13:43
Synergy Cycles		1:15:15
Ayr Roads CC - A		1:17:07
Team Right Move Windows		1:17:09
Glasgow Green CC – A		1.17.14
Stirling Bike Club		1:19:41
Team Leslie Bike Shop		1:20:14
Glasgow Ivy CC		1:21:02
Edinburgh RC - Vets		1:21:20
RC Cumbernauld/Kilsyth A		1:21:32
Dunfermline CC - B		1:22:09
Dunfermline CC - A		1:25:19
SPRA		1:25:43
Falkirk Bicycle Club - B		1:28:08
RC Cumbernauld/Kilsyth B		1:30:34
Glasgow Green CC - B		1:34:19

 

Gold Medal – Pro Vision Cycle Clothing (Archibald, Friel, Griffiths, Roberts) 1.8.31

Silver Medal – Dooleys RT (Cusick, McLafferty, McLelland, Shirley) 1.11.04

Bronze Medal – Sandy Wallace Cycles (Ettles,Goldsworthy,Mill,Thomson) 1.11.08

DISQUALIFIED – PRO Vision B Team & Falkirk A Team