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Until now better known for his off-road invincibility, the 16 year old had entered the race for training.
“I was quite surprised when I won it because everyone there is a specialist road rider, whereas I’m a mountain biker,” said Kenta. “I just went down there for training and it was a shock to my body because I’m not used to it, but it kind of worked out OK.”
Talk to Kenta about his results this year and you could be forgiven for thinking they almost happened by accident. But holding three national titles takes more than steely resolve. Not only does he have the fastest pair of legs in Scotland, he has a mature and tactical brain for racing.
“It was really heavy rain which made the roads very slippery and a couple fell off because everyone else was taking it fast on the corners,” he said. “So I decided to do the opposite, taking the corners slow and going for it on the straights and using my strength on the uphill to get away from everybody.
“With two others from the Scottish talent team I made a break from the rest and we lapped them. On the last five laps I made my move, got a 40 second lead then finished the race 45 seconds ahead.”
So, he’s possibly achieved a first in being Scottish mountain bike cross country, cyclo cross and road race champion all at once. And that’s not all. A fortnight ago it went unnoticed in Scotland that he won the British mountain bike title at under 16 level. But that’s typical Kenta, not one to boast about his achievements.
“To win my first British Championship feels amazing,” he continued. “Everyone went flat out at the start because they all wanted it so badly. But I knew the race wouldn’t be won in the first few hundred meters so I stayed back.
“My main rival from the previous rounds, Luke Grey (England) got round half a lap and wasn’t feeling well so pulled out. But then Max Sykes (England) sat right on my wheel the whole way round. It’s a big advantage to stick behind someone because you don’t have to work so hard and it was a fast track and the wind was picking up.
“But I so wanted to win the race and it turned into a sprint finish. I won by a second.”
A bike racer for only four years, Kenta was in 2006 selected for Scottish Cycling’s “Talent Team” Performance Programme, which aims to assist Scottish athletes achieve medal success in Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games Competition. At the same time he was inducted into the Highland Institute of Sport, whose teams work together to deliver essential support services locally in sports medicine, sports science, strength and conditioning and career and lifestyle guidance.
It’s too early to tell whether winning his first British title will open further doors but in the meantime his sponsors, 777 MTB Racing and Kenny’s Audie VW specialists, have agreed to buy him a new bike for next season.
At home this week before heading for a training camp in Edinburgh on Monday, followed by a trip to France to compete in the French Cup, Kenta was working towards his final season goal.
“For the first time I’ve achieved all my goals so far this year,” he said. “The final one is to make the Olympic Development Programme and I’m just working on my application now.
“You have to prove you love riding the bike, show good results and be motivated enough to get to the top of the sport. So I hope I’m there.
“Compared to last year I’m a lot stronger, I’ve got more experience so I know what to expect. Last year was a getting used to everything year. This year is the real year.”