PEDALLING ON THE DOCKS OR THE BRAES
Hardy riders for cyclocross challenge in gruelling conditions
INTERNATIONAL stars will compete at Scotland’s biggest ever cyclocross race – the Dig in at the Dock – in Bo’ness tomorrow which sees former European champion Helen Wyman lock horns with the best talent north of the Border, including the top men.
One of the country’s fastest-growing sports, some Scottish cyclocross events have attracted more than 600 riders this season as the sport enjoys a boom-time worldwide.
The Bo’ness event, part of the four-race Super Quaich Series, started as a minor race put on by a few friends in Bo’ness but has caught the attention of some of the sport’s biggest names just five years on.
Scotland’s much-maligned climate has provided the kind of muddy tracks that test the racers to the full. Ice and snow only add to the fun in this hardiest of cycle discipline.
Englishwoman Wyman, fresh from a podium finish in the Hoogstraten Superprestige in Belgium, the spiritual home of cyclocross, and after recovering from a collarbone break, is joined on the start line by Scottish men’s champion Harry Johnstone.
Also seeking to settle a score with early season star Johnstone is Gary Macdonald, who has run away with the previous Super Quaich races at Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow, Ayr and Foxlake, Dunbar.
Wyman, a nine-time national champion and World Championship medallist, said: “It’s going to be cool to be back in Scotland for my first experience of Dig in at the Dock.
“I’m a fan of Scottish cyclocross and this will be a really fun way to finish my season.
“The crowds in Scotland are by far the biggest in the UK, so I’m hoping they’ll be making some noise. I’ll expect cowbells to be ringing.”
Wyman was the first of the big name riders to confirm her intention to be at the race. Top US pro Jeremy Durrin shortly followed suit by announcing his intention to ride and, like Wyman, the notion of visiting Scotland was a big draw for the rider.
He said: “As an American cyclocross racer, I get to travel all over the US and beyond which is great, but coming to Scotland and checking out the racing there will be a lot of fun. I’ve heard great things about it.”
However, the star of the Scottish season so far is arguably 33-year-old Gary MacDonald, from Kinlochleven, an 11-time Scottish champion at trials riding, whose handling skills far exceed any other rider in the field.
As well as seeking to topple young gun Johnstone, MacDonald will also be keen to consolidate the form that has seen him swat aside his own coach Davie Lines, a veteran of the sport and another former Scottish champion.
MacDonald said: “I’m quite late in coming to cyclocross and, while I have all the handling skills, I have been lacking in the engine room, which is quite important for such a gruelling sport.
As an American cyclocross racer, I get to travel all over the US and beyond which is great, but coming to Scotland will be a lot of fun
“I signed up with Davie’s Espresso Cycle Coaching and I’ve managed to get the power up and up, which has allowed me to reverse the placings with him, which has been brilliant.
“He is a great rider and a top coach so he has been able to grin and bear it even if he doesn’t like it. “I’ve had a couple of tricks up my sleeve from the trials experience, which has allowed me ride parts of the course that just about everyone else has to run up.
“I’ve enjoyed that and I get a great reaction from spectators for riding the tricky bits.”
MacDonald, who will assess a cracked rib on race day before making a decision on whether or not to take to the starting grid, said the top-class field at Bo’ness is no more than the event deserves.
He added: “The organisers for the Dig In’ put up a great race and the course if designed to accommodate spectators on the inside, so it’s a great day out. It will be interesting to see how I get on against the big names. I’m only 62kg, which means I like it when it gets muddy and hilly - and this is precisely the wrong course because it’s flat and fast. So I’m not expecting too much and I’m not sure I could keep Davie Lines’s wheel on a course like this.”
The event’s co-organiser David Hamill believes the event’s success is as much down to the spectator experience as the muddy thrills and spills.
He said: “Bike racers like riding in front of spectators and cyclocross is great to watch.
“We play on these two things to create an experience which appeals to those who don’t usually find themselves watching bike races. The rest sort of takes care of itself.
“On a Sunday in February, there isn’t normally a massive list of things to do with your family and what there is to do usually costs a bit of money.
“It’s very entertaining watching a bunch of bike riders sliding around in the mud, running around with their bikes on their shoulders and generally suffering a lot.
“An hour later it’s all over, you got out in the fresh air for a bit and you’ve still got money in your pocket.”
In 2012, Hamill and a friend decided to put on a bike race for their friends. Hoping a few of the locals would come