Riise wins trophy for fastest overall cyclist

Shetland Wheelers had another productive weekend of racing, this time in a two-day competition organised by the Forres Cycling Club.

The event consisted of three individual time trials, each one counting towards an overall prize for the fastest rider.

Kinloss was the venue for the first event, a flat 10-mile time trial held on a bright Saturday afternoon. The gale force wind helped the riders fly to the five-mile turn in under 10 minutes, but unfortunately the open fields provided little shelter as they all then struggled back to the finish.

Sunday started bitterly cold and windy and 25 miles was the distance for the second race, this time on the busy A96 between Elgin and Forres.

In the afternoon the competitors had to face a hilly 17-mile time trial based on the scenic country lanes around Rafford and Pluscarden. The sun made an appearance and warmed the cyclists as they waited on the start line. Luckily the wind was in the right direction and give the riders a push up the two steepest climbs . The surface was poor in places, but the long descent back to Forres had recently been re-tarred, encouraging speeds of over 40mph from the more daring of the riders.

Carlos Riise did well in all three events, finishing third in the 10 and 25-mile time trials, and second in the harder hilly race in the afternoon. His combined time of two hours and three minutes for the 52 miles earned him the trophy for the fastest overall rider out of the 60 competitors who took part during the weekend.

Christine McLean was up against ex-Shetland rider Mari Todd in the women’s event. Short-distance specialist Todd finished eight seconds ahead in the 10-mile race, but McLean’s strong performance in the two longer events gave her the upper hand. She won both the 25 and the hilly time trials, well ahead of the field with a comfortable winning margin. Her combined time of two hours and 16 minutes gave Christine first place overall in the women’s category and fourth overall in the main open event.

Meanwhile six hardened cyclists turned out last Thursday evening to do battle with a cold, strong, southerly wind at the Shetland Wheelers time trial evening.

It was Jack Scobie’s first attempt at the 10-mile distance and his time on such a poor night was an excellent start.

Andrew Grant chose to do the longer distance, flying up to the turn north of Voe in less than 25 minutes and putting in a hard effort to return in a very respectable overall time.

Results: Carlos Riise 23:38; Colin Smith 24:17; Barrie Scobie 30:38; Bonar Barclay 31:30; Jack Scobie 41:49; Andrew Grant 1:09:15 (25 miles)