The Alba Series, organised by Scottish Cycling, is set to commence this Saturday, 16 March, starting with the Gifford Road Race. The women’s equivalent, the Scotia Series, begins two months later with the Straiton Struggle in May.

We’ve put together an explainer to introduce you to these series, detailing their format and how they operate.

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What are the Alba and Scotia Series?

The two Series are Scotland’s premier road racing competitions. The standard of racing is one of the highest domestically after National Road Series, with high calibre riders from north and south of the border often gracing the start lists. UCI riders have often competed in the series in the past, including Harry Tanfield, Finn Crockett, Logan Maclean, Oscar Onley, Zeb Kyffin to name but a few.

Craig Paterson (Spokes Racing) won the 2023 Alba Series, while the 2023 Scotia Series winner was Heather Shanks (North Argyll Cycle Club).

What are the races?

Alba Series

The Alba Series is an Open category series that features races on challenging courses, offering a diverse range of terrains – events like the Drummond Trophy and the Gifford Road Race favour strong riders, whereas the Hugh Dornan Memorial is tailored for climbers. These races stand out from road races in England and Wales in that they typically feature more extensive laps.

The series is back to a five-race series – with a new edition at the Outsider Events RR in Lothian which will act as the series finale in August.

Date	Round	Race	Organiser
16 Mar	1	Gifford Road Race (East Lothian)	Edinburgh RC
21 Apr	2	Drumond Trophy (Strathaven)	Glasgow Glenmarnock Wheelers
19 May	3	Hugh Dornan Memorial RR (Garelochhead)	Lomond Roads CC
25 May	4	Straiton Struggle (South Ayrshire)	Ayr Roads CC
11 Aug	5	Outsider Events RR (Lothian TBA)	Outsider Events

All rounds are designated as National B road races.

Image: The Press Room

Scotia Series

The women’s Scotia Series consists of five rounds of Regional A races this summer. These races are usually between 50 and 80km in length and held on sporting courses.

Date	Round	Race	Organiser
25 May	1	Straiton Struggle (South Ayrshire)	Ayr Roads CC
09 Jun	2	Duffus Road Race (Moray)	Elgin CC
16 Jun	3	Pippa Handley RR (Peeblesshire)	Edinburgh RC
04 Aug	4	Hillbillies Road Race (Dumfries and Galloway)	Galloway Hillbillies BC
11 Aug	5	Outsider Events RR (Lothian TBA)	Outsider Events

2023 Scottish circuit race championships. Image: Ben Fitzhugh

Scottish National Road Race Championships

In addition to these two series, it is worth noting that the Scottish National Road Race Championships take place on Sunday 4 August in Dumfries and Galloway. This prestigious event will feature competitions in both the senior Open and women’s categories, alongside a women’s junior road race for women.

How it works

Scoring

For both series, points are awarded to riders after each race, according to the points table below.

Place	Points	Place	Points
1^st	35	11^th	10
2^nd	30	12^th	9
3^rd	25	13^th	8
4^th	23	14^th	7
5^th	21	15^th	6
6^th	19	16^th	5
7^th	17	17^th	4
8^th	15	18^th	3
9^th	13	19^th	2
10^th	11	20^th	1

In the Alba Series, a rider’s best four performances will be taken into account, to calculate the final Series standings. If a rider competes in less than four races, all their points will be calculated. If only four rounds take place, a rider’s best three performances will be taken in to account. If less than four rounds take place, all performances will be taken in to account.

In the Scotia Series, the regulations say that a rider’s best three performances will be taken into account, to calculate the final series standings. If a rider competes in less than four races, all their points will be calculated. If less than four rounds take place, all performances will be taken in to account.

In both series, in the event of a points tie in the series standings, the result shall be decided based upon finish position in the most recent event.

There is also a club competition, whereby the finish positions from the top three riders from each club will count for the team prize, which will be presented on the day. Clubs must have three riders finish from their team.

The club series standings is compiled following each event, using the series points from the top three riders combined to create an overall club series winner. For the club series competition, all rounds of the series will count.

2023 Scottish circuit race championships. Image: Ben Fitzhugh

Eligibility

The Alba Series is open to:

Senior male Elite 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd category riders
Senior female Elite 1^st and 2^nd category riders
Final year Junior male 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd category riders

NB: Where the minimum distance for a National B road race (120km) is not achieved, the race shall be open to all Junior male 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, category riders and all Junior female 1^st and 2^nd category riders.

The Scotia Series is open to: