Dunblane cyclist, Calum McLean only began racing this season but
already he has left an indelible impression. Earlier this month the 15
year old pulled on a Scottish racing strip for the first time, as a
member of the Scottish Youth (under 16) team selected for the three-day
Isle of Man Youth Tour stage race.
Last weekend he won his first ever race, collecting no less a title than the Scottish Youth Circuit Championship. Held on the flat criterium circuit at Ingliston, by Edinburgh airport, the race incorporated the final round of the Ingliston Criterium Series, which he also won.
In what the organisers described as a superbly competitive event, the Stirling BC athlete beat 24 of the country's top youth riders in the 35 minutes plus five lap Scottish Championships. On the finish line he nudged ahead of Dean Martin (unattached), known on the circuit as a strong finisher, who had launched a mid race solo effort.
This is the first Scottish Championships I've been in and it's quite weird being Scottish champion because it's the first race that I've ever won, admitted McLean.
My tactics were to stay near the front, so when Dean made a solo attack with 14 minutes and five laps to go, a group of us chased him and made a break. At the finish it was a sprint between me and Dean. I'm not a great sprinter but I pulled away just about a centimetre and I knew then that I had it.
McLean's first title lifts him nearer his goal of becoming the Scottish Road Race Champion by the time he turns 18. Supporting him is the Central Scotland Institute of Sport which selected him last November. He is also a member of Scottish Cycling's Talent Team.
The Central Institute helped me with Strength & Conditioning training at the start of the year - now I'm using the psychologist, the nutritionist and physio, he said.
McLean, who has also begun to include track racing and training into his schedule, will head for Preston, Lancashire next Saturday (9 June) to compete in the British Youth Circuit Championships.