Logan Maclean (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall) won the open race at the Scottish Road Race Championships in brilliant solo fashion, while 16-year-old Arabella Blackburn (Shibden Apex RT) bettered elite competition to take a sprint win in the driving rain in the combined senior and junior women’s race. Beth Morrow (Alba Development Road Team) finished second to earn her the senior national title.
Images: The Press Room
Report
Open race
The open race unfolded with high drama and intense competition over a challenging 122.1km course in Newton Stewart, Dumfries, and Galloway. Featuring five laps of the 24.7km Ochiltree circuit, the race provided a rigorous test for some of Scotland’s finest road racers. With last year’s winner Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) a non-starter, a new Scottish national road race champion was assured.
The race commenced aggressively, with an early attack by a group of eight riders establishing a 1’20” lead halfway through the first lap. Among them were 2023 junior national road race champion Finn Mason (Saint Piran), Alistair McNicol (Dooley’s Cycles), Ben Gibson, Greig Brown (both Vanelli-Project Go), Sam Chisholm (The Cycling Academy) and Ribble rechrg duo of Sam Barbour and Fergus Robinson. Despite losing a rider, the breakaway managed to extend their lead to 1’40” by the end of the first lap.
Midway through the second lap, four riders successfully bridged across to the leading group. The new additions of David Lines (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Logan Maclean (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall), Ross Clark (Glasgow Ivy CC), and Noah Bleteau (The Cycling Academy) injected fresh energy into the breakaway, which now boasted ten riders.
A brief neutralisation occurred due to an ambulance intervention, but the race quickly resumed with the breakaway maintaining a slim one-minute lead. As the race progressed, Gibson and McNichol were dropped during the third ascent of Ochiltree Hill, reducing the breakaway group to eight.
The decisive moment came on the penultimate climb when Maclean and Mason launched a daring attack, gaining a 20-second advantage over the remaining breakaway riders. The pair extended their lead to 25 seconds, but the gap began to close as their cooperation behind increased.
Af the foot of the final ascent, Maclean made a bold solo move, leaving Mason behind. At the the top, however, Maclean’s advantage was down to just 10 seconds, with the peloton, now just 10 strong, chasing hard led by contenders including Jacob Smith (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) and Alex Ball (Project1).
With just a few kilometres left to the finish, Maclean, head down, rode with all his might, wary of the firepower in the chase behind. His efforts paid off as he extended his lead to over 30 seconds on the downhill run to the line, the celebration at he took the flag showing just how much it meant to him.
Behind, what remained of the peloton contested a hard-fought sprint for the rest of the podium spots. Junior Elliot Rowe (Fensham Howes-MAS Design) clinched second place, narrowly beating Smith, who settled for third. Ball finished just off the podium in fourth.
“This feels amazing – I’ve wanted to win this race for years,” Maclean told Scottish Cycling afterwards. “In 2022 I came second on the line, and last year I was in the break and got caught on the last lap and finished sixth. It never seems to go my way, but today I just knew I had to make it count and give it my all. I wanted the jersey and I’m so chuffed to finally do it.”
Describing the closing stages to The British Continental, he said: “On the last climb, which was about 15km from the finish, I just opened up from the bottom because I was told we only had ten seconds to the bunch. I managed to hold the bunch off, or what was left of the bunch – there was a group of hitters who we’d identified before the race like Alex Ball, Jacob Smith, Elliot Rowe – these guys were working hard to try and bring me back. I had maybe about a 15 second advantage over the top of the climb and then just opened it up to maybe about 30 or 40 seconds in the final ten kilometres which was quite rolling to the finish because I knew that if I’d got that gap over the top I could commit fully.”
Women’s race
From the chaos of the open Race, the afternoon’s women’s race was much calmer and far more controlled—weather aside, that is. Unfortunately for the riders contesting the combined senior and junior women’s championships, the wind picked up and rain began to fall.
Nonetheless, the adverse conditions didn’t diminish the appetite for a Scottish title. Shibden Apex RT’s Arabella Blackburn, just 16 years old, took the fight to the strong squads from both Alba Development RT in the senior category and Solas Cycling in the junior category.
The race, consisting of four laps of the Ochiltree circuit for a total distance of 95km, was a severe test in the harsh weather conditions. The smaller peloton ensured a more controlled pace compared to the frenetic open race.
Laps one and two were largely uneventful, but the third ascent of the main Ochiltree climb saw an injection of pace from Blackburn. As expected, she was closely marked by the two larger teams.
The penultimate climb brought the race to life with just one and a half laps remaining. A group of five riders forged clear, comprising Blackburn, the multi-disciplined Anna Flynn (Spectra Racing), Edinburgh RC’s Lauren Dickinson – who was second in the Lancaster Grand Prix – and Alba pairing Beth Morrow and Lulu Bartlett. This quintet descended with a gap of over a minute. While Blackburn was seemingly on her way to claiming the junior title, the race for senior honours was still very much alive
The worsening conditions, with torrential rain, neutralised the racing somewhat in the closing stages, and with 1km to go, the five women were still together, setting the stage for a bunch sprint.
In a thrilling dash to the line, Blackburn’s well-documented sprint prowess secured her victory, much to the delight of the hardy onlookers. Morrow finished second, clinching the senior national title and ensuring the stripes stayed with Alba Development RT for another year, her teammate Eilidh Shaw having won in 2023. Morrow’s teammate Lulu Bartlett took the silver medal, while cycling newcomer Lauren Dickinson earned bronze.
Logan Maclean (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall) won the open race at the Scottish Road Race Championships in brilliant solo fashion, while 16-year-old Arabella Blackburn (Shibden Apex RT) bettered elite competition to take a sprint win in the driving rain in the combined senior and junior women’s race. Beth Morrow (Alba Development Road Team) finished second to earn her the senior national title.
Images: The Press Room
Report
Open race
The open race unfolded with high drama and intense competition over a challenging 122.1km course in Newton Stewart, Dumfries, and Galloway. Featuring five laps of the 24.7km Ochiltree circuit, the race provided a rigorous test for some of Scotland’s finest road racers. With last year’s winner Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) a non-starter, a new Scottish national road race champion was assured.
The race commenced aggressively, with an early attack by a group of eight riders establishing a 1’20” lead halfway through the first lap. Among them were 2023 junior national road race champion Finn Mason (Saint Piran), Alistair McNicol (Dooley’s Cycles), Ben Gibson, Greig Brown (both Vanelli-Project Go), Sam Chisholm (The Cycling Academy) and Ribble rechrg duo of Sam Barbour and Fergus Robinson. Despite losing a rider, the breakaway managed to extend their lead to 1’40” by the end of the first lap.
Midway through the second lap, four riders successfully bridged across to the leading group. The new additions of David Lines (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Logan Maclean (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall), Ross Clark (Glasgow Ivy CC), and Noah Bleteau (The Cycling Academy) injected fresh energy into the breakaway, which now boasted ten riders.
A brief neutralisation occurred due to an ambulance intervention, but the race quickly resumed with the breakaway maintaining a slim one-minute lead. As the race progressed, Gibson and McNichol were dropped during the third ascent of Ochiltree Hill, reducing the breakaway group to eight.
The decisive moment came on the penultimate climb when Maclean and Mason launched a daring attack, gaining a 20-second advantage over the remaining breakaway riders. The pair extended their lead to 25 seconds, but the gap began to close as their cooperation behind increased.
Af the foot of the final ascent, Maclean made a bold solo move, leaving Mason behind. At the the top, however, Maclean’s advantage was down to just 10 seconds, with the peloton, now just 10 strong, chasing hard led by contenders including Jacob Smith (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) and Alex Ball (Project1).
With just a few kilometres left to the finish, Maclean, head down, rode with all his might, wary of the firepower in the chase behind. His efforts paid off as he extended his lead to over 30 seconds on the downhill run to the line, the celebration at he took the flag showing just how much it meant to him.
Behind, what remained of the peloton contested a hard-fought sprint for the rest of the podium spots. Junior Elliot Rowe (Fensham Howes-MAS Design) clinched second place, narrowly beating Smith, who settled for third. Ball finished just off the podium in fourth.
“This feels amazing – I’ve wanted to win this race for years,” Maclean told Scottish Cycling afterwards. “In 2022 I came second on the line, and last year I was in the break and got caught on the last lap and finished sixth. It never seems to go my way, but today I just knew I had to make it count and give it my all. I wanted the jersey and I’m so chuffed to finally do it.”
Describing the closing stages to The British Continental, he said: “On the last climb, which was about 15km from the finish, I just opened up from the bottom because I was told we only had ten seconds to the bunch. I managed to hold the bunch off, or what was left of the bunch – there was a group of hitters who we’d identified before the race like Alex Ball, Jacob Smith, Elliot Rowe – these guys were working hard to try and bring me back. I had maybe about a 15 second advantage over the top of the climb and then just opened it up to maybe about 30 or 40 seconds in the final ten kilometres which was quite rolling to the finish because I knew that if I’d got that gap over the top I could commit fully.”
Women’s race
From the chaos of the open Race, the afternoon’s women’s race was much calmer and far more controlled—weather aside, that is. Unfortunately for the riders contesting the combined senior and junior women’s championships, the wind picked up and rain began to fall.
Nonetheless, the adverse conditions didn’t diminish the appetite for a Scottish title. Shibden Apex RT’s Arabella Blackburn, just 16 years old, took the fight to the strong squads from both Alba Development RT in the senior category and Solas Cycling in the junior category.
The race, consisting of four laps of the Ochiltree circuit for a total distance of 95km, was a severe test in the harsh weather conditions. The smaller peloton ensured a more controlled pace compared to the frenetic open race.
Laps one and two were largely uneventful, but the third ascent of the main Ochiltree climb saw an injection of pace from Blackburn. As expected, she was closely marked by the two larger teams.
The penultimate climb brought the race to life with just one and a half laps remaining. A group of five riders forged clear, comprising Blackburn, the multi-disciplined Anna Flynn (Spectra Racing), Edinburgh RC’s Lauren Dickinson – who was second in the Lancaster Grand Prix – and Alba pairing Beth Morrow and Lulu Bartlett. This quintet descended with a gap of over a minute. While Blackburn was seemingly on her way to claiming the junior title, the race for senior honours was still very much alive
The worsening conditions, with torrential rain, neutralised the racing somewhat in the closing stages, and with 1km to go, the five women were still together, setting the stage for a bunch sprint.
In a thrilling dash to the line, Blackburn’s well-documented sprint prowess secured her victory, much to the delight of the hardy onlookers. Morrow finished second, clinching the senior national title and ensuring the stripes stayed with Alba Development RT for another year, her teammate Eilidh Shaw having won in 2023. Morrow’s teammate Lulu Bartlett took the silver medal, while cycling newcomer Lauren Dickinson earned bronze.
Results
Open race
Women’s race
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