Champions crowned at Chatelherault
At the second time of asking, Chatelherault played host to a round of the HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series, the inclement weather making the 24/25 Series finale one to remember.
With Royal Albert and the Clydesdale Colts having been forced to cancel their race in November due to Storm Bert, the weather forecast wasn’t much better for this late February edition, but alas, it went ahead and what a day it was!
With Series’ crowns up for grabs as well as individual race wins, there was plenty at stake as riders took on a ‘proper cross course’, which featured lots of mud, some steep run ups and some equally steep ‘slip downs’. Some loved it, but even those who struggled admitted what fun it was.
For the majority of the day it was lashing it down and blowing a gale, which combined with a great course, delivered some thrilling racing. Kicking things off were the U14 and U16s, Xander Graham first across the line to take the U16 Open race, that win ensuring he also clinched the series crown. In the U16 Female Millie Boothman would overhaul Scottish champ Zara Main for the win, but the Deeside rider’s second place was plenty good enough to take the series title.
At this point we’d like to say a big thank you to HUPcc who funded this year’s Series prizes; the winners received a unique gold Big Bobble Hat, whilst all podium finishers received a one of kind SCX hoody – look out for them at a race near you!
In the U14 Female it all came down to Chatelherault; Eilidh Scally did what she had to do, winning by quite the margin, but Emma Nicholson was up for the fight, her second place finish enough to hold onto her series lead by just five points – great racing girls! In the Open, Josh Stewart already had things wrapped up, but he showed his class once again with another win.
With the rain continuing to fall the course was really starting to cut up by the time the Masters Open 50s and 60s went between the tape, Ian Taylor from Shibden making light work of things to win convincingly from Dougie Cameron, who having won every previous round, took home the Series title. In the 60s Neil Raitt thrived in the conditions, progressing through the combined field to come home fifth overall, first 60. Combine that with a rare off day from Mr Consistent Brendan Roe, who came home sixth, and the two men would be tied on Series points, meaning Neil took the title on countback. An epic end to a brilliant Series long battle!
Next up were the Females, Lettie McDonald using her power to prevail ahead of Monica Anderson in the Senior race, but having missed two rounds, she would have to settle for second overall, Anderson taking home the Series. The big story in the Female race came in the M40s, where Janine Inman took the win, and in doing so overhauled Madeleine Pope to take the series by a mere nine points!
The M50F race went the way of Sian Tovey, but second place for Megan Mowbray after an injury lay-off was more than enough for her take the series crown, whilst another win for Helen Winton saw her take the M60F series. There was no Freya Mowbray this weekend, as she was busy riding her mountain bike for GB in Spain, but she took home the Junior Female Series crown.
Next up was the Junior Open and Masters 40 Open, with Edward Lindsay taking a brilliant win from Henry O’Brien, with third going the way of Rob Friel, the first M40 home. That result would give Lindsay a superb series silver, but it was Ross Eastaugh, third on the day, who would prevail overall. Despite DNF’ing, Scott Smith took the 40s Series title, as second and third placers David Ogden and Brian McCardle both sat Chat out.
Finally the rain stopped, and the wind died down, which denied the Senior Open riders value for money; nonetheless they were treated to a proper bike race, with thick, sticky mud making the going technical and tough. Onlookers were also treated to a proper bike race, as Finlay Taylor of the home club surged clear in the early stages, but would eventually have to settle for third, as Richard McDonald and Neil Scott powered on through the slop. A ding-dong battle all the way, it was the more experienced crosser, Scott, who would edge clear on the last lap to win by just a few seconds. That result saw him leapfrog Scottish Champion Lewis Martin to take the Series crown.
What a day, both in terms of the racing and the weather, so a huge thank you to all the organising team, marshals, parents, pit crews and everyone else who braved the weather to make a cyclocross race to remember.
With that, the 2024/25 HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series comes to a close, but there is still one final race of the season at Strathallan Castle this weekend, which will round out the Super Quaich Series. Enter that one before midnight on Tuesday 25th by clicking here.
