Linlithgow poised for HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series debut

On Sunday, nearly 500 riders will make their way to West Lothian for round four of the HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series, on a course making it’s debut in Scotland’s premier series.

Whilst Linlithgow has hosted cx races for a number of years now, it has never featured in the national series, whilst the new version of the course, much changed since the West Lothian Cycle Circuit was completed last summer, has only been used once.

With that in mind, we wanted to give you an insight into what you can expect on Sunday.

The Course

If you raced at Linlithgow in January you’ll certainly have a good idea of what to expect, but with Falkirk Junior Bike Club working with West Lothian Clarion on the delivery of round four, expect a few tweaks to keep you on your toes.

Starting on the most used start/finish line of West Lothian Cycle Circuit, expect a super-fast start towards the top end of the circuit, before you cut onto the grass area to do an S-bend, before exiting the circuit through a draggy, lumpy section that saps your start straight speed.

Then it’s another S-bend, before some ‘moguls like skiing’ – take that with a pinch of salt though, as we’re not sure what organiser Fraser Johnston knows about skiing! Either way, if there’s traffic, you may well be off and running.

Then you’ll drop down onto a much smoother, harder section next to the circuit fence, before going through a gap in the trees, turning left and heading towards the old course of years gone by. You’ll also pass the pits at this point.

From here you’ll follow the border of the woodland and drop down the hill. The grass is short here, so it could get slippy and develop a bit of ‘South Shields shine’ as we saw at the Trophy last weekend.

Then it’s into a section of switchbacks, before you head for the furthest away part of the course, down by the road entrance to the leisure centre. This is all tight switch backs, before you hit the first set of hurdles…!

Then it’s a couple of off-camber turns on the bottom bank, before you have to attack the hill to get back up to the football pitches. More off camber and tight corners – which is the bread and butter of this course – as you tire you have to watch out for slipping out, catching your bars or overshooting if you’re trying to pass.

Then you hit the second set of hurdles, before passing the pits for the second time. Then it’s back to the circuit via a long sweeping corner on an off-camber. “We’re going to tape this so it’s nice and tricky, and may well rut up”, says Johnston.

Once back on the circuit you’ll go across the cobbles, through another S-bend and then hop onto the central grass bank, before the final right turn back onto the tarmac and the sprint for the line.

Organisers thoughts

With entries closing on Tuesday evening, we can confirm that a whopping 484 riders will be heading to Linlithgow, our highest number of the season, which we can hopefully build on for Chatelherault and Irvine, the latter doubling up as the Scottish Champs.

Ahead of the action, we asked Fraser what he makes of the course, which is a new venue for him and his FJBC organising team.

“This season feels a bit different, as it’s the first time in four years we haven’t ran a round of the National CX Trophy Series. I am so proud to have been a part of the team that brought a British Champs to Scotland for the first time, but as a team we needed a break, so it’s good to do something a bit different this season.

“With our other venue no longer workable for a CX event, I want to firstly thank Keith and Martin  for switching dates to give us more time to find a solution, and for Craig and Ewen at the Clarion for being up for doing something together!

“This venue is unlike anything else in Scotland, with the cycle circuit providing an ace enclosed setting which should encourage crowds to gather around the start/finish and create a really good buzz around the event village.”

Ewen Fulton from the Clarion added:

“As organisers we’re blown away that 484 riders have signed up to race round 4 of the HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series at Linlithgow, which makes it the biggest race of the season so far, and look forward to welcoming you all to Linlithgow as it hosts its first ever SCX round!

“This event is delivered by a collaboration between FJBC and West Lothian Clarion, and we are hoping our joint venture encourages other clubs/teams/organisations to step up and come together to deliver new events on the cyclocross calendar. By working together we can pool resources, knowledge and share the load, ensuring the cyclocross community in Scotland continues to thrive.

“For those of you who have raced before at Linlithgow you can expect some of our classic course features from the past including some off camber traversing. With the cycle circuit being added to our venue expect to see us up our game with the additional features including drumlins cobbles and short tarmac sections. The weather is looking good for the weekend so the mud-o-meter is on the dry side, so expect a fast course this weekend.

“As always a massive thanks to all our volunteers who have signed up to help deliver the event - we couldn’t deliver these events without them dedicating their time.”

However, on the course conditions, Johnston had this to say:

“We’re at that midpoint of the season where the mud-o-meter is starting to look promising, and the many tight off-camber corners are guaranteed to catch a few riders out this weekend. A double dose of hurdles could also continue to play a decisive role in some of the close battles that we’ve also seen play out through the rest of the series so far.”

So, who’ll be right, and what will the final mud-o-meter have to say? Guess we’ll find out on Sunday…