Cyclists saddle up on racing circuit
Debutcompetitionseesnewchampscrowned
West Lothian Cycle Circuit crowned their first champions as more than 200 competitors flocked to Linlithgow for the circuit’s opening event.
The Coronation Crits saw riders from across Scotland take part in a thrilling weekend of coaching and cycling – including open men’s and open women’s races.
The event incorporated the Scottish Youth circuit race series and was organised by West Lothian Clarion, with races for riders aged five and up.
Organiser Craig Duncan told how the day was a decade in the making.
He explained: “West Lothian Clarion are grateful for all the work by Linlithgow Community Development Trust to deliver this world class 1km circuit.
“We’ve been getting ready for this day for 10 years, while the funds to build the project were raised.
“It was really gratifying when the undereight riders rolled off the start line. They weren’t even born when plans to build this amazing facility were first proposed.
“It’s been a long journey and now we just want to do the circuit justice and get more folk cycling and racing.”
He added: “Thanks must go to all the dedicated volunteers but also LCDT, Xcite Linlithgow and West Lothian Council who provided a licence so that we could run this event.”
Linlithgow Community Development Trust Board member Fraser Falconer added: “We’ve been working really hard to get the project finished for this event so it was really gratifying to see the facility used by such an enthusiastic group of cyclists.
“The feedback has been amazing, from six year olds calling their experience ‘awesome’ to future stars getting a kick out of cycling the circuit’s distinctive corners.”
As for the action on the track, Tim Shoreman escaped from the bunch with British cyclo-cross champion and Linithgow lad Cameron Mason along with Lewis Martin at the 20-minute mark.
The trio combined forces to build up a lead of 30 seconds, until Shoreman exploded out of the final bend to win by a bike length.
In the women’s race, the bunch was too evenly matched to allow escapees, despite Skye Davidson and Natalie Stevenson repeatedly trying to gap their rivals.
After 45 minutes of racing, it came down to a bunch sprint, with 16-year-old Erin Boothman firing out of the group for the win.
The men’s support race was won by Alan Dean after he broke away early on and was joined by Alastair McNicol.
Both riders worked together until Dean
attacked with two laps remaining to cross the line in first place.
The youth girls race followed a similar story to the support race.
This time it was Melanie Rowe (and Erin Boothman) who attacked after two
laps and built up an unassailable lead. Rowe went into the final hairpin corner first and accelerated out, to nose ahead of Boothman for the win.
The full field for the boys A and B race lead to a hectic first quarter before Struan
Shaw and James Sweeney eventually broke free alongside Evan Marsh.
The trio combined to eventually lap the field until Shaw attacked and was able to edge home against Marsh by a wheel.