Man cycled from Dundee to take part in Oban Sportive
CYCLISTS travel from all over the country to take part in Oban Sportive, but not everyone rides more than 100-miles to do so.
Organiser and competitor Steven Groom told The Oban Times that a man on a one-gear mountain bike took part in the Ben Cruachan Hill Climb – while 99 per cent of riders do it on a road bike. Not only that, the gentleman had set off from Dundee at 1am and cycled all the way to Cruachan to compete.
Steven said: ‘I set off two minutes behind him and I did not catch him.’
Alexander Dent also went to the event on Sunday and Steven says he put in a really good time on the shorter route.
And don’t worry, he didn’t have to cycle back to Dundee – he got a lift back from the Wild About Argyll van.
Dent’s performance was another highlight for Steven, not only did he win the long distance main event, but the organiser said the teenager rode up Ben Cruachan faster than some people went down it.
Mark Beaumont also came to the rescue of a man who suffered a mechanical issue as he was about to set off on the hill climb.
Steven said: ‘Mark, without hesitation, said here’s my car keys, there’s a bike in the back.
‘The bike was his world tour bike, worth more than £10,000.’
And with the full results now being available on the Oban Sportive website, The Oban
Times can reveal that Mirjam Allik was the fastest female in the longer, 87-mile route with a time of 6:08:43 and Shona MacLachlan was the quickest in the 56-mile course, finishing in 4:11:17.
Everyone who took part in Oban Sportive received an Oban Whisky glass upon finishing, thanks to Diageo.