Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) completed a special brace of Scottish National titles on Sunday claiming the men’s Scottish National Road Race title in Alford from a bunch sprint to add to his Scottish National Circuit Race title on Saturday.
The Aberdeenshire native came into the race as one of the favourites after strong performances across the season including in the National Road Series, National Circuit Series and the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic.
The day dawned bright and clear, sunny with only a little wind, a mere breeze that would only trouble the riders on the finish climb of the Glax, with the riders facing a 135km route for the 2023 Scottish National Road Race Championships.
The race was neutralised as the riders came down through Muir of Fowlis and onto the race circuit, but the flag was quickly in and racing began in earnest. A number of early attacks were attempted by riders, but none were able to gain a lasting advantage, on the early laps of the 20km loop on which the race would be held.
On lap three on the steep switchback climb, known as the Corkscrew, three riders were clear David Lines (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), teammate Tom Merry and Hamish Armitt (Private Member). A small group including Zappi rider Calum Moir was chasing with the peloton.
Liam Scott Douglas (JG Cycles CC) and Calum Moir had joined up with the lead trio and were out in front in a group of five which alternated between being just ahead of the chasers and then gaining some time. They were joined by Logan Maclean (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), who had spent the earlier part of the season racing with AG2R La Mondiale Citroen U23, made a fantastic effort to bridge across to the leading quintet, who had built an advantage nearing three minutes over the remainders of the peloton.
The second group was being marshalled by Aaron King (Wheelbase) with Shoreman on his wheel and Matiss Robertson (North Argyll CC) and Scottish National MTB XC Champion Lewis Martin (Studio Velo), who had swapped his mountain bike for this weekend’s event, also present in the group.
Last time around and the gap was coming down Ciaran McSherry (The Cycling Academy) and Tim Shoreman both looking in ominous form, with the Wheelbase team chasing hard on the front, despite having two riders in the front group. A late attack by Armitt and Maclean as the chasers came into view of the leaders, saw the duo retain a 20-second lead until the 8km to go mark when they were caught by the peloton.
The finish was atop the Glax Hill – a long drag which steeper at the bottom, but too long for a pure climber to feel entirely at home, and a perfect springboard for an attack. As the riders moved into view of the finish, it wasn’t one man but a whole bunch as the groups had merged and separated again with McSherry, Shoreman, King, and Craig Paterson (Spokes RT).
It would come down to a sprint finish and Shoreman timed his jump to perfection to claim the title ahead of McSherry in second with King taking the final podium position.
At the finish, Tim Shoreman told Scottish Cycling:
“It was pretty hard, we raced pretty negatively as we had six guys in the race. We were quite far behind, me and Aaron King, and then we brought it back and were able to sprint, which was pretty good.”
The decision to chase down the break which had two teammates may have raised eyebrows but the result paid off and Shoreman suggested as much, as he said:
“It was a bit of an odd situation because we were still in the race, but no one was doing anything, so the three of us thought we’d chaingang round and see what happens. We committed and we ended up with two of ours on the podium.”
At the Race HQ in Alford, Scottish Cycling President Kathy Gilchrist presented the riders with their medals. Scottish Cycling would like to thank the volunteers and commissaires as well as Spokes Race Team for hosting and organising the race.
The Scottish National Women’s Road Race Championships will take place in Kinross on Saturday 30th September.
Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) completed a special brace of Scottish National titles on Sunday claiming the men’s Scottish National Road Race title in Alford from a bunch sprint to add to his Scottish National Circuit Race title on Saturday.
The Aberdeenshire native came into the race as one of the favourites after strong performances across the season including in the National Road Series, National Circuit Series and the Rutland-Melton International CiCLE Classic.
Featured image: The Press Room
Report
The day dawned bright and clear, sunny with only a little wind, a mere breeze that would only trouble the riders on the finish climb of the Glax, with the riders facing a 135km route for the 2023 Scottish National Road Race Championships.
The race was neutralised as the riders came down through Muir of Fowlis and onto the race circuit, but the flag was quickly in and racing began in earnest. A number of early attacks were attempted by riders, but none were able to gain a lasting advantage, on the early laps of the 20km loop on which the race would be held.
On lap three on the steep switchback climb, known as the Corkscrew, three riders were clear David Lines (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), teammate Tom Merry and Hamish Armitt (Private Member). A small group including Zappi rider Calum Moir was chasing with the peloton.
Liam Scott Douglas (JG Cycles CC) and Calum Moir had joined up with the lead trio and were out in front in a group of five which alternated between being just ahead of the chasers and then gaining some time. They were joined by Logan Maclean (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), who had spent the earlier part of the season racing with AG2R La Mondiale Citroen U23, made a fantastic effort to bridge across to the leading quintet, who had built an advantage nearing three minutes over the remainders of the peloton.
The second group was being marshalled by Aaron King (Wheelbase) with Shoreman on his wheel and Matiss Robertson (North Argyll CC) and Scottish National MTB XC Champion Lewis Martin (Studio Velo), who had swapped his mountain bike for this weekend’s event, also present in the group.
Last time around and the gap was coming down Ciaran McSherry (The Cycling Academy) and Tim Shoreman both looking in ominous form, with the Wheelbase team chasing hard on the front, despite having two riders in the front group. A late attack by Armitt and Maclean as the chasers came into view of the leaders, saw the duo retain a 20-second lead until the 8km to go mark when they were caught by the peloton.
The finish was atop the Glax Hill – a long drag which steeper at the bottom, but too long for a pure climber to feel entirely at home, and a perfect springboard for an attack. As the riders moved into view of the finish, it wasn’t one man but a whole bunch as the groups had merged and separated again with McSherry, Shoreman, King, and Craig Paterson (Spokes RT).
It would come down to a sprint finish and Shoreman timed his jump to perfection to claim the title ahead of McSherry in second with King taking the final podium position.
At the finish, Tim Shoreman told Scottish Cycling:
“It was pretty hard, we raced pretty negatively as we had six guys in the race. We were quite far behind, me and Aaron King, and then we brought it back and were able to sprint, which was pretty good.”
The decision to chase down the break which had two teammates may have raised eyebrows but the result paid off and Shoreman suggested as much, as he said:
“It was a bit of an odd situation because we were still in the race, but no one was doing anything, so the three of us thought we’d chaingang round and see what happens. We committed and we ended up with two of ours on the podium.”
At the Race HQ in Alford, Scottish Cycling President Kathy Gilchrist presented the riders with their medals. Scottish Cycling would like to thank the volunteers and commissaires as well as Spokes Race Team for hosting and organising the race.
The Scottish National Women’s Road Race Championships will take place in Kinross on Saturday 30th September.
Results
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