Kinneil X brings in close to 300 riders

Kinneil X rolled into Bo’ness at the weekend and welcomed close to 300 competitors and their families along to the inaugural edition of the event.
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Run by Falkirk Junior Bike Club, the Cyclocross event ran the full day with a packed programme of coaching and racing.

Around 45 adults started the day with a 90 minute coaching session introducing them to the discipline of Cyclocross.

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Many of them hadn’t raced before, so the session looked at some of the key skills essential in Cyclocross to prepare them for an introductory beginners race which followed the coaching session.

The Kinneil X Cyclocross took place at the Kinneil Estate, Bo'nessThe Kinneil X Cyclocross took place at the Kinneil Estate, Bo'ness
The Kinneil X Cyclocross took place at the Kinneil Estate, Bo'ness

The race took in a mixture of the grass, woodlands and trails around Kinneil Estate – which proved testing for beginners as the course began to churn up as the race progressed.

Seventeen parents/guardians of club members took part too – many of them for the first time.

The afternoon featured a full programme of youth racing, introducing a new Under Six category to act as an entry point into racing for the youngest riders.

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With 45 riders on the start line for the Under Six race, the riders had a lot of fun making their way around the shortened course, with parents chasing and encouraging them as they went.

Rhuaridh Simpson of West Lothian Clarion came out on top in the Under Six Boys race, with Aila Till winning the Under 6 Girls.

Ythan Walker and Austin Ledwidge came second and third, with Emma Kingan second and Falkirk rider Gemma Tattersall taking third in the Under Six Girls.

Under eights was the biggest field of the day with over 60 riders on the start line.

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The girls race was led from start to finish by Emmie Main and Thea Baines, both of Falkirk Juniors, who went on to finish 1st and second, and they were joined by Amelia Simpson on the podium.

Under Eight Boys was won by Rharidh McPherson of the Johnstone Jets, Sam Kingan in second, and Fyfe Fray in third.

It was the battle of the Buchans in the Under 10 Boys, with the cousins from Edinburgh RC switching positions several times throughout the race.

Ultimately, Lewis Anderson from Stockton Wheelers got in the mix, with Zach Buchan taking the win, Lewis in second and Josh Buchan in third.

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The twins from the Clydesdale Colts – Isla and Eilidh Cameron – came down to a sprint finish, Isla taking the win, Eilidh second and Millie Boothman third.

The course then reopened for practice for the Under 12s, 14s and 16s.

The 14s and 16s rode the full adult course so this was their first opportunity to get out and ride it and see how much damage the adults had caused in their outing earlier on.

The Under 12s was a 20 minute race with Gus Lawson winning the Boys and Joscelyn Kennedy winning the Girls.

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Jamie Hall and Xander Graham made it an ERC one, two and three, with Nancy Corrie and Ella Campbell rounding out the Under 12 Girls race.

The Under 14 Boys was won by Reuben Thomson of the Grampian Tigers, Murray Gray of the Jets in second and Noah Bleateu of West Lothian Clarion in third.

Lacey Holmes took the win in the Under 14 Girls, while Una Morrice took the win in the Under 16s.

Keir Gaffney won the Under 16 Boys, with the two Gregors from West Lothian Clarion battling it out for second and third, Gregor Hunter sneaking in front of Gregor McPhaden to finish second.

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Fraser Johnston, Head of Strategic Planning and Coaching for Falkirk Junior Bike Club, commented: “ A big thank you to Falkirk Community Trust, the

Friends of Kinneil and all of our club volunteers for supporting our first ever Cyclocross event.”

To find out more information about Falkirk Junior Bike Club and their events visit the club’s social media pages.