Clarion ladies run show at Fife meet
One-two Lochore triumph forWest Lothian
West Lothian Clarion brothers Miller and Alexander Crombie took advantage of the school holidays by competing in an event a little further afield from their usual stomping ground.
The pair entered the final round of the North-East Cross Country Mountain Bike Race Series in County Durham and put in strong performances.
Alexander managed a top10 finish in a packed field in the Under- 12s race, which took in seven laps of the course.
His older brother tackled a very challenging course, which saw him complete two laps of 12km on a route which tested the riders’ fitness and skill.
But he proved more than a match for the 3km climb, which was followed by a tricky and technically difficult descent, and he grabbed second place.
There was even an unexpected bonus for the youngster as the prizes were presented by the UCI Downhill MTB World Champion Danny Hart, a native of the northeast of England.
A delighted Miller said: “This was a challenging but fun race, and I’d love to come back and try the downhill course here. The club coaching we’ve had at Beecraigs was really helpful to deal with the technical and rooty sections of the course.”
Elsewhere within the club, 14 of their riders headed to the third round of the Scottish Cross Country Mountain Bike Series at Lochore Meadows in Fife recently with three achieving podium places.
Conditions were hot and dusty, and though some riders seemed to be struggling to cope with the temperatures, the pace was still fierce on a course that allowed for competitive racing.
The club was particularly well represented in the youth races, with riders competing in all categories from under- 8 to under- 14 with the best youth result coming in the under- 8 event with Calum Ogilvie coming second equal with Rhuairdh Fulton also making it to the top 10 in this race.
Ben Massey and Brodie Duncan achieved solid results in the under10s race, while Finn Mason, Ross Chisholm, Rory Ogilvie and Alexander Crombie competed in the under-12s race, which was more challenging than in previous years with the riders now having to compete on the adult circuit.
The club’s riders also placed respectably in the under-14s race, with Andrew Turner achieving sixth, Sam Chisholm eighth and Miller Crombie 11th in a very fast group.
There were three adult competitors from the club with all of them tackling the shorter twolap race.
In the women’s race, Clarion riders ran the show with Ailsa Curtis and Diane Clayton Chisholm taking first and second places, respectively, while David Ogilvie just missed out on a podium place in the men’s race.
A thrilled Diane said: “The course wasn’t too technical, with just one big climb and one main descent.
“The main challenge to be honest was the heat – it was burning hot across the meadow, and the smell of barbecues at the loch side was torture.”
The club’s members are now looking forward to the remaining rounds in the series at Dalbeattie, Glentress Forest near Peebles and Kingussie.