World Short-Track Mountain bike championships in Glasgow (well Glentress actually)

It had been part of David Lappartient's manifesto when he took over as president of the Union Cycliste Internationale, in 2018. He really relished the idea of holding a sort of "cycling Olympics" in which a major event would take place bringing together all the various cycling disciplines, including paracycling - road racing, time trial, velodrome cycling, mountain biking (downhill and cross-country), BMX (racing and trials), indoor cycling (artistic cycling and cycle ball) - in one location. 

So when it came to fruition, with events being held in Glasgow and other selected venues in Scotland, there must have been a real sense of accomplishment for the directors and the operational teams at the UCI, British Cycling, Cycling Scotland, and various officials who had worked to get the show on the road, literally.

With such a major event taking place, and with continuous media coverage on TV, and regular bulletins about who was winning what, at the different races, that it was hard to not feel the buzz of the event, and be part of it.

Normally, I would have gone to the event in my capacity as a journalist and covered one of the events. But I hadn't felt that I could commit to doing that as I was working on other projects related to my other pie in medical copywriting.

As it happened, I did have a bit of time, and so I was happy to go up as an ordinary punter and combine it with a trip to visit Scotland as well as to see a couple of races.

So I booked to see the World Short-Track Cross Country Mountain bike championships, and also the indoor cycling, as I was keen to check out this new sport.

These cycling championships were advertised as taking place in Glasgow, as it contained the finishing loops of the road races, the Chris Hoy velodrome, the Emirates arena for the indoor cycling, the BMX stadium, and Glasgow Green for trials and other BMX competitions. 

As well as Glasgow, events took place in other venues around Scotland. The men's road race started from Edinburgh, the women's road race started from Balloch at Loch Lomond, there were time trials in Stirling, and paracycling events at Dumfries. The cross-country mountain biking took place in the Borders area, at Glentress, near Peebles - some 60 miles away. So it wasn't entirely focused on Glasgow.

Cycling along the Tweed

So I drove across the mid-Scotland countryside to see the cycle racing at Glentress forest. Tom Pidcock and was on the start list, as well as one of my favourite riders, Evie Richards, who would be in a very hotly contested women's race. So I was quite excited about going to watch the event.

After leaving my car at the Park and Ride in a park at Peebles, I took out my cyclocross bike from the boot and cycled along the River Tweed to reach the venue. My route went along the river and through the pretty village of Peebles, with its stone-faced houses and quaint cafes, pubs and guesthouses, then into woodland. This is a pleasant area to be with or without an international cycle event taking place. There were lots of people out and about taking walks with their family, and seemed quite content at the sight of so many visitors to their town. Who wouldn't to visit here! 

I asked directions to a local on how to reach the forest (I had failed to see one of the UCI arrows indicating the way to the centre). The woman had her children with her, who were on balance bikes and she was coaxing them along. While giving directions she also said hello to another local person passing by. "Hi John, how are things....Yes, go diagonally across the park and then you will see the cycle path takes you into Glentress. You can't miss it. It's a nice ride." she said with a mild Scottish accent. This lady seemed very proud to be a Peebles resident.

Just outside the village of Peebles I caught sight of the mountain bike centre up above, with all the hoardings, billboards, advertisements and to make the ambiance, the pumping music, loud commentary and riders - the juniors - competing in the previous race. I felt rude not riding up to watch their race, but it would have felt even more rude if I hadn't ridden further along the scenic Tweed Valley cycle path towards Innerleithen, another mountain bike trail centre. 

Time wasn't really on my side, in terms of getting in a significant bike ride. That was always going to be the case when coming up to Scotland for the cycling. Earlier in the day I had been up to Loch Lomond for a swim and that combined with breakfast and the drive over had eaten into valuable riding time. So many activities so little time as they say. Riding along the Tweed Valley Path was very pleasant. Pan flat sections intersperse undulating trails through the woodland of these Borderland forests. I encountered numerous cyclists along the way as they were using path to reach Glentress, having parked their cars in Innerleithen. Most of them were in a rush. This was also the stretch for elite athletes to do any final warm-ups before the race. I bumped into the German Team, plus some riders from Israel and Spain. The route was largely flat, but there were a fair few undulations as the path went through a multi-terrain mixture of gravel, tarmac and wooded surfaces of different bridges.

Chase group in the men's short-course race 

I managed to get back to the Glentress mountain bike centre just as the start klaxon sounded for the start of the men's race. The only thing was I was still a 100m below them at the entrance to the site! After squeezing in my bike at the expansive but packed out bike park, and going through security I did a mini fell run past the various promotional trade stands to reach the lower section of the race course, just in time to see the lead hurtling round containing eventual winner Sam Gaze (New Zealand), and Tom Pidcock leading a second group. The crowd roared and cheered as any of the British riders, including Cameron Orr came past, regardless of whether they were in the lead group or among the stragglers. 

Considering that I was one of the last spectators to arrive at the scene, I still managed to get a good view. There were crowds but it wasn't overcrowded. As the race was in progress it wasn't possible for me to go to "track centre" which would have allowed me to see other parts of the course, so I stayed put where I was. Seeing lots of press photographers also standing near me indicated that this must be a good place to be anyway. We were at the top of a mini uphill ramp around 100m from the start-finish line, so we could see the lead riders accelerating up this ramp to drop their rivals, as well as the back-markers who were straining and struggling as fatigue took it's toll on them. We were also near enough to see the finish line, which was a dead heat between Gaze and the Frenchman Victor Koretzky. Tom Pidcock took bronze in controversial circumstances in which he apparently barged Germany's Luca Schwarzbauer when trying to get in a gap on the last lap, causing the potential bronze-placed rider to crash.  

Tom Pidcock warming down at the finish line

We were also well-placed to see the riders keel over panting, trying to get their breath back after their efforts. The riders were in different states of exhaustion, and different sentiments ranging from elation, disappointment, despair or frustration. Some also needed medical attention as they'd raced around carrying a bleeding wound after crashing along a point in the course.

Tom Pidcock seemed to regain his recovery efficiently and was talking to some of his competitors. Speaking to one guy I heard him say something about "leaving the door open" when commenting on how the race went.

A few minutes later the marshals opened the barriers in order to let us move into track centre, and from there I was able to pick my spot for the women's race, which featured defending Short-Track Champion Evie Richards, multiple World Champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, and Dutch favourite Puck Pieterse.

After the build-up introducing the different racers, and the characteristic sound of the human heartbeat in the countdown, the klaxon rang out, and the women were off down the straight and up the hill. This time I stood on the opposite side from where I had been during the men's race. Although I got a good view, my photos weren't as clear because took more of a side-on view and the riders were so fast, the photos were blurred. I will rephrase that. Evie Richards was so fast, my photos of her were blurred! She really made a strong campaign by signalling her intentions from the get-go and riding off the front, much to the excitement of the home crowd. The best photos I got of her were racing were on the giant screen, on which the camera operators gave her a lot of time.

Women's lead group

Also the new position I was in was the shorter line of the hill, which curved to the right, meaning that spectators were very close to the riders, and a stray hand or even a small child could easily be hit if they were marginally over the barrier. I therefore did not want to take any risks even with my phone camera, so made sure to stand back.

Being in track centre meant that I could then move on to the twisty gravelly berms as the riders negotiated this downhill part of the ride. At this point the crowds were at their thickest and the loudest, with bell-ringing and whoop whooping going on too, for all riders, regardless of the nation they were representing. Combined with the dynamic commentary and ambient music, it was more like being at an outdoor music festival on this sunny early evening in August.

Sadly for Evie Richards, she didn't win, as the ever powerful Frenchwoman, Ferrand-Prevot opened the burners on the penultimate lap, and Evie was also dropped by Pieterse. Another Briton, Isla Short, finished in 13th place. At the finish line, the ever-popular Evie still looked joyful despite losing her crown, and gave lots of hugs to her fellow competitors, folks in the crowd that she knew, and took the time to sign her autograph for little girls who were clearly very inspired by her.

Tricky, downhill berms where a few riders crashed

It was a good afternoon out. I didn't stay for the presentation as I didn't want to be too late getting back to Glasgow. I must say I was glad to have done the park and ride and used my bicycle rather than a shuttlebus to get the venue. It's always a logistical headache ferrying thousands of people back to their cars, so it was a relief to not have to deal with that.   

The drive back to Glasgow was technical along all the winding roads through the rolling hills, but it was beautiful and the roads were practically empty. I can see why folks enjoy coming to Scotland.

Back in central Glasgow I got home in time to have a hearty dinner in preparation for the following day, which would involve another trip to Loch Lomond, and watching some indoor cycling.                                     

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52 Cycling Voices - 34: Evie Richards

When speaking to mountain biker Evie Richards it's like a breath of fresh air, as I found when I interviewed her last year. Even though she is Britain's top female cross-country mountain biker she comes across as very modest and relaxed, with a well-balanced attitude to life. Having said that, when I spoke to her I found that things hadn't always been so easy-going for her, notably a few years ago when she suffered from disordered eating. Things have improved somewhat since then. She has fulfilled a dream of becoming an Olympian, when she competed in the Tokyo Olympics. She has since also become a World Champion, as well as Commonwealth Champion at the Games that took place on a course at Cannock Chase near Birmingham. Well done, Evie!

Evie Richards, aged 25

From: Great Malvern, Worcestershire

Occupation: Cross-country mountain bike racer

I always loved the Olympics. I just dreamt of being in the Olympics. It wasn’t necessarily cycling  when I was younger, that I wanted to get into. I just did every sport until I found one that I could go to the Olympics in. So for me it was the Olympians who inspired me – people like Jess Ennis, Tom Daley who were my true inspirations – or Jonny Wilkinson in rugby – we used to watch a lot of rugby, so it was …so for me it wasn’t until I started racing and I was racing world championships that ….I remember in my first world champs I sat on the side line and my friend was teaching me the names of all the riders. I never really watched cycling as a kid. So it wasn’t that I had an inspiring person in cycling. But now from me racing against different people and watching different races there are so many inspiring people. 

I got into cycling with my friends, and we used to ride around in the local hills. Local riders like Commonwealth Mountain Bike Champion Liam Killeen and World Downhill and Enduro Champion, Tracy Moseley (T-Mo Racing) would do coaching sessions.

Liam is the person who first helped me when I got into riding. He used to do efforts with me and friends on a Tuesday after school. On Thursday we would do Turbo in my friend’s garage and he would lead it for us. It’s funny because after four of five years of cycle racing I went back to him for coaching along with Matt Ellis, a GB coordinator. I also had Katy Curd as a coach. She's a retired downhill rider, and does all my technical coaching. Then there's Tracy. They are all people that I’ve grown up with, and they all live locally. So I feel lucky to have this team of people near to me. 

I feel like we’re probably freaks of nature around here in Malvern. I think from such a young age you don’t really go on the computer, you don’t really have a phone. If you do something you knock on someone’s door and you go up the hill and go adventuring or something. It’s quite cool. It’s like all the boys I went to nursery with are my best friends and if we wanted to see each other we’d just knock on the door and go on an adventure together. So I feel like we’ve always been brought up just being outside, and I feel that that’s probably had something to do with it. 

If you look at the men, like Tom (Pidcock) and Matthew (van der Poel) they can just do everything well. But for me, I prioritised the mountain bike because it was always my dream to go to the Olympics. I raced all the mountain bike races, and then I'd have a short break and use cyclocross races as training over winter. I never feel like I am going very well in the cyclocross races, but it is my favourite way to train. 

I love how crazy cyclocross racing is, and I do think I was born to do that discipline. I think for mountain biking I have to work a lot harder for it – all the skills don’t really come naturally, but I think I’m lucky that I am good in cold temperatures and I like the chaos of it, so I was pleased with my result at the World Cyclocross Championships in Oostende, where I finished 7th.

I love it so much. I think one year I would like to properly race it – be training for cross, and do loads of training on my cross bike and everything. But at the moment I can’t peak for everything like those boys do, so I focus on the mountain bike and use the cross to train through it.

I do put myself under pressure when I race. I’m a worrier and I feel like I always put pressure on myself – it’s not always from external pressure. Like I remember when I watched the Olympics when I was eight, I couldn’t watch the running, all the athletics because I wanted to be there so badly. I couldn’t watch it and I was already putting pressure on myself at the age of eight. 

I think without anyone around I put a lot of pressure on myself. As I grow older, I learn how to deal with that better. I work with an amazing psychologist and he’s taught me how important it is to work out what other people are putting on you, and how much you actually want it. I feel really lucky to have a great psychologist who helps me deal with all the pressure otherwise I’d be a nervous wreck at all the races.

In the past disordered eating and RED-S has been a problem for me. Sometimes you feel you have to grow up very quickly. When you I got into cycling and left school I just wanted to win so badly and I thought the way to do that was to be the lightest I could be.

I don’t think there was anyone to point me in the right direction at that age. I lived on my own and there wasn't anyone to pick up on it and say "You probably should be eating more." So it was actually when I moved back home after three or four years when my mum was like, "Oh my gosh you are so bony; you need to put on some weight." 

I was very lucky to have a very supportive family who caught it at the right time and helped me, and I realised how unhealthy it is for women not to have periods. Before that I remember seeing many doctors and asking if it was okay that I was not having a period. And always, the answer was yeah, that’s fine don’t worry about it. 

When I was growing up there was a lot of disordered eating in sport and you were aspiring to be like someone who wasn’t actually healthy. The difference now is if you go on social media there are so many people talking about their experiences, or encouraging people to fuel their riding. 

I worked with Renée McGregor and she was amazing. She helped me get better and it’s not even a problem anymore. I think it’s so important to educate people about this. Under-fuelling is something that can ruin a young rider and ruin their career from a young age. It can lead to a really short career. 

Covid made things very complicated when going to races because of all the paperwork and it was worrying. You need a Covid test, a letter from British Cycling, a letter from the race organisation saying that you’re racing. You need a higher status letter, so normally one from an Embassy, with an official stamp. There’s loads of other paperwork you need, though those are the three main ones. If you don’t have one of those there’s no chance of you getting across.

We have to travel from Heathrow Airport, which is nearly three hours for us. Once when we got to Heathrow we were told there was no way we would be flying, as we didn't have the right paperwork. So there we were - people who had travelled from all across the UK and we met at the airport -  only to have to go home as the trip was off. Then a few days later, we got a message saying, "Quick - book yourself in for a Covid test! We’re going in a couple of days!" We just about managed to get across to our race in Spain in time. It was so stressful!

I love riding my bike, but I also love non-cycling things. I’m very competitive but I think if you saw me in the street you probably wouldn’t think I was a cyclist. I don’t really like talking about bikes. Bikes are my day job. I don’t want to see my bike or my phone on my day off. I like doing mini holidays. Like me and my mum do a 48-hour retreat on my rest day just after training. 

My friends are really important to me and that’s such a really big part of my life. I like to go and have coffee with them or have barbecues up in the hills and stuff like that. Just doing anything that isn’t cycling with my friends is fun. I’m not really into shopping but I’d rather go to a little market when there aren't huge crowds, and I’m with people I really love seeing.

I do love sport. We’ve grown up doing it, and I love running, love swimming, wild swimming. I also like to play tennis or do anything outdoorsy. 

I think there can be a lot of pressure on young riders very early – whether it’s from parents or teachers or just from themselves. I think with me I was very lucky to have this group of boys and we would ride and have a camp fire or we would ride in winter to some random Tesco ages away and buy ice cream, sit outside on the kerb and eat it. So I think the importance at a young age is just to find a group of friends and just go on adventures, exploring places on your bike. 

I get a lot of messages from parents or kids asking me what training plan should they be doing, but I really think at that age you should just be having fun. If you want to race and do efforts then race each other, but don’t go out and thrash yourself because you feel like you ought to at that age. Find a group of people you can socialise with and make memories together. I think it’s so important because there are a lot of people who are so narrow-minded and all they do is cycling and that can only last so long, so you might as well, at a young age do as many sports as you can and just have fun really." 

Other Cycling Voices

Pauline Ballet

Tracy Moseley

Helen Wyman

Monica and Paola Santini

Janet Birkmyre

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Emily Chappell

Michelle Webster

Caroline Martinez

Maria David