Falkirk junior bike club gets muddy in dirt crit on Callendar Estate Trails

The inaugural dirt crit at Callendar Estate Cycle Trails, just off Lochgreen Road, provided a challenging course, challenging conditions and a great fun day for all.

With 70 riders from the local club in action across the day, nearly all races had FJBC representation.

Cameron Archibald managed to avoid a crash at the start of the under-14 boys and started strongly in second position, a position he held onto for two laps.

A spill of his own saw him slide down to sixth, but he fought hard to finish a respectable fifth place.

Junior Club coaches Ryan Brannen who hasn’t raced cross-country in over three years – and Miller Crombie of West Lothian Clarion CC, sat on each others wheels for a big chunk of the race, before Brannen surged ahead to chase down race leader Andrew Turner.

Despite a valiant effort, Brannen finished second with Crombie home in fourth.

The first race of the day had been the under-eight boys – in which there were 54 riders on the start line including 27 from the local club. Local riders Cameron Duncan and Isaac Hughes were looking to leave with trophies, however Josh Stewart from Dumfries, Millar Davidson from Stirling and Sam Kingan from Edinburgh were all in the hunt too.

With the rain slashing down and a spill at the start line holding Cameron back, the boys raced over four laps around the now muddy and slippy circuit, with Josh finishing in top, closely followed by Cameron in second and Millar in third. Isaac just missed out on a podium spot coming home in fifth.

The under-8 girls section was again dominated by local riders, with 13 of the 19 starters coming from FJBC. Emmie Main was first off the line, with Ella, Isla and Thea in close pursuit, with Hollie from the Colts in the mix too. Emmie led from start to finish ending in first place, with teammate Ella in second and Isla and Thea fourth and fifth respectively.

The under-10 boys is one of the most competitive fields nationally, with the front end mainly made up of second year under-10s, with a big contingent of FJBC Riders currently first years in the category - nevertheless, all riders finished and put on some impressive performances. Harris Drackford and Clara Baines in the under-12s just missed out on podium places, coming fifth and fourth respectively, but showing real grit and determination in doing so.

Fraser Johnston said: “A big thanks must go to all of our parents and coaches who played their part in delivering our first ever event, to our event sponsors Larbert Round Table and Hogans Fine Food, Callendar Estates and the Cafe at Canada Wood, and all other supporters for their time and commitment to making local racing happen.”