Maurice’s eyeing up championship spot
Cyclist in training to qualify for UCI Gran Fondo event
Perth’s Maurice Laing is putting the pedal work in to qualify for the UCI Cycling World Championships on home soil.
The experienced cyclist has his sights set on booking a spot in the 65-70 age category for the Gran Fondo spectacle which heads for the region in August.
Maurice, who has spent time training in sunny Majorca as well as the milder climes of the Perthshire countryside, is gearing up for a qualification event next month.
“I have to ride and finish in the top 20 per cent of a qualifying event, of which there are many throughout the world,” he said.
“There is a qualifying event in the UK on June 4 - the Tour of Cambridge. I should get through easily enough, barring accidents.
“And, to be honest, I will be looking to get on the podium. I am
now in the 65-70 age category, but this age group is really competitive, lots of really strong guys riding.
“There will be guys from Europe to ride the Cambridge event. Last time I rode it there were French and Belgian guys, but I will give them a run for their money too.”
Maurice has been in training since early November.
He said: “I have mainly been
doing a lot of aerobic endurance training, which consists of long durations of time riding at a relatively low intensity.
“I have added in build training blocks which will help increase my power and before Cambridge I will start doing VO2 Max training which will bring me up to race ready.
“I have put in the miles through the winter on cold and miserable mornings when morale is low - but this is what is required to do well.”
Having experienced competing on the world stage before, Maurice is of course determined to achieve such a feat on his own patch. Perth and Kinross will host the Gran Fondo road races on August 4.
“It’s split into different age categories so it gives older riders like me the chance to remain competitive,” Maurice told the PA.
“I qualified for the world finals in Poland in 2019 and the average speed for riders over 60 was 26mph.
“There are very high quality riders in every age category including former professionals and national champions from 10, 20 or more years ago. The races are split into five year age categories.
“Gran Fondo are prestigious events to win and some of the riders are practically full time bike riders.
“Although not professionals, they take training and preparation very seriously.
“There are two courses for the Perth races, I am riding the shorter of the courses, it’s about 55 miles, a longer course would suit me better, 70 miles. Once the exact course is released I will be riding it twice a week to get to know every pothole.”
Maurice is better placed than most to endorse Perth and Kinross as a terrific location to host such a high-profile event.
“Perthshire has some great roads,” he explained. “You just have to look at the thousands of people who travel to Pitlochry each year to ride the Etape Caledonia to see how great our roads are.
“There are roads the lads and girls in Perth United Cycling Club are lucky to have available to them every weekend.”
Maurice concluded: “In a race there are a load of things which influence the result - tactics, courage and luck - but the roads of Perthshire will help to make it a great event.”