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Scottish National Youth TT Championship 

Saturday 17^thAugust saw riders assemble in Drumoak for the Scottish National Youth TT Championship, organised by Deeside Thistle. The race was held on a slightly modified version of the standard Drumoak 10 course that many Ythanites had raced on the week before. Due to roadworks, the start had to be moved further back, creating a 10.6 mile course.

Daniel Kain claimed the Scottish National Youth A (Boys) Time Trial Championship, ahead of Fraser Gault and Alexander Gibb (Edinburgh RC). 

Morven Yeoman claimed the Girls Youth A Gold ahead of her East Kilbride team-mate, Imani Pereira-James and Kirsty Johnson of Edinburgh RC. 

In the Youth B (Girls) the gold medal was taken by Evie White (Deeside Thistle CC) for the second year running. Corey Whiteford of Lanark race team claimed gold in the boys Youth B race. 

Gavin Gronkowski and Robert Smart finished in 12^thand 13^thplaces respectively. 

An open TT was also held on the same day for the adults, with Gavin’s dad, Ewan Gronkowski, taking an excellent bronze medal behind Jamie Davidson (Bioracer Moriarty Bikes) and Kelvin Whyte (Sparta Breda). 

Scottish National Youth Series race no. 4 – Ellon Youth Criterium 

Following the downpours of last year’s Ellon Crit, there was relief all round on Sunday morning, as sunshine and a slight breeze welcomed the best riders from across Scotland for round 4 of the Scottish National Youth series. The races were held on a 700m closed road circuit around Ellon town centre. 

In every race the kids demonstrated great racing and bike-handling skills, and riders and spectators alike enjoyed the superbly organised event. Well done to Colin Allanach on yet another wonderful day of youth racing on our home patch. His relief at handing over the reins for organising the event was clear, as Colin spent the rest of the afternoon roaring around the town centre as a T-Rex!

Details of the races and podium places are as follows.

Under 8s

A large contingent of Ythan riders lined up for the opening race of the day, a 10 minute race plus 1 lap on the 700m closed road circuit around Ellon town centre. All Ythan riders showed great skill and effort, with Isabella Smith claiming her first podium place in a road race. She took 2^ndplace in the girls race, and 3^rdplace overall. Eden Thomson of Deeside Thistle took 1^stplace in the girls race, with Ruaraidh Macpherson winning the boys race. 

Charlotte Cordiner finished in 6^thplace, while Matthew Moran, Thomas Fyall and Brodie Scouller finished in 5^th, 6^thand 12^thplaces respectively. More importantly they all did it with smiles on their faces!

Under 10s

Eilidh Gronkowski was the only Ythan rider to line up in the U10 race, which was a 10 min race (plus 1 lap).  Eilidh put in a great performance finishing in 6^thplace. 

Melanie Rowe of Deeside Thistle won the girls race, with Xander Graham winning the boys race. 

Under 12s

Four Ythanites lined up in the U12 race, which was 15 mins + 2 laps. Matthew Smith put in a sterling performance to claim 3^rdplace after a hotly contested sprint.  

The girls race would see the same podium as in 2018 with Erin Boothman (East Kilbride), Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle) and Anna Birrell (Edinburgh RC) claiming the top 3 places after a thrilling race. 

In the boys race Adam Murray took 1^stplace ahead of Edwyn Atterton (Edinburgh RC) and Matthew Smith (Ythan CC). 

Euan Murphy, Andrew Ingram and Kyle Gibson finished in 6^th, 7^thand 11^thplaces respectively. 

Under 14s (25 mins + 3 laps) 

Robert Smart, Jimmy Coleman and Gavin Gronkowski lined up in the U14 race. Gavin Gronkowski was putting in an excellent performance when a rider in front of him slowed down suddenly, causing a crash and ending the riders race. Unfortunately Gavin suffered a broken bone in his arm, in only his second race back from a previous break. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

The race ended with a thrilling photo finish, with Jamie Thomson taking the win from Luis Ryder by 0.5 seconds. Robert Smart and Jimmy Coleman finished in 11^thand 13^thplaces respectively. Deeside riders Evie White and Mille Thomson provided an equally thrilling finish, crossing the line seconds apart. 

Under 16s (40 mins +3 laps) 

There were no Ythanites lined up in the U16 race, although the crowd was out in force to cheer on former Ythan youth riders Daniel Kain, Fraser Gault and Cameron Brown in what would be a very fast race with an exciting spring finish. 

Daniel Kain won the boys race, just ahead of Alexander Gibb and Fraser Gault in a sprint finish, with Imani Pereira-James taking an uncontested win in the girls race. 

Pedal car race

The Ythan ladies swapped two wheels for four on Sunday, as they powered through the streets of Ellon on their custom-built pedal car! They did a sterling job, braving the water pistols on Costcutter corner and finishing in a very respectable 9^thplace. Well done ladies!

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Scottish 100 mile TT championships
Mike Giles was the only Ythan rider in the 100 mile TT championship in Invergordon. He returned to the keeper in a time of 4:24:57 and in 18th place. Andrew Underwood of Gowrie Velo club was the winner, and the first of 4 riders with a sub 4 hour time, returning to the keeper with a time of 3:50:14. Catriona MacGillvray of Team RT23 was the fastest lady, in a time of 4:00.53 and in 6th place overall.

Ythan CC confined 10m TT – Tuesday 6th August
The times of the first riders on the B9000 Pitmedden course in each category were:

Ewan Gronkowski 23:56
Matthew Reid 24:00
Mike Giles 24:20

Carol Middleton 27:08
Wendy Gault 27:34
Morag Thomson 30:55

Robert Smart 31:53

Grampian Evening Road Race No6 – Thursday 8th
Inverurie-based TENS cycle club were the organisers of the final evening road race of the 2019 series, which was held on the Fetternear circuit, near Inverurie.

The race comprised 4 laps of a circuit in the countryside around Fetternear, Burnhervie and Blairdaff, with a hill top finish near the Bennachie visitor centre.

Ythan riders Steve Rae and Stuart King lined up for the 56km race, which included Elite and CAT 1,2,3 and 4 riders. The quality of the field made for a fast race, and a real test for the CAT4 riders, who finished in 30th and 32nd places respectively.

International Youth Tour Errigal – 3-5th August
Ythan youth rider Matthew Smith sailed across to County Donegal in Ireland for the 2019 International Youth Tour of Errigal earlier this month. The 11 year old from Ellon was entered in the U12 category in the competition, which comprised 4 stages of open road bike racing across 3 days.

The 50-strong field in the U12 boys’ race experienced the full race convoy of safety cars and motor bike outriders clearing the path for the riders on open roads around the countryside in the shadow of the Donegal mountains.

Like their heroes in the Tour de France, the riders were timed for each stage and classified with jerseys awarded for race leader (yellow), king of the mountain (polka dot), leading young rider (white) and stage winner (green). There were also prizes for the U11 and U12 age group categories.

Stage 1 comprised a 10km road race on undulating open roads starting and finishing in Churchill. Stage 2 was a 3km hill climb time trial on the slopes of Mount Errigal, with the road having an average gradient of 3.5%, and some sections at 5%. Stage 3 was a criterium on a flat closed-road circuit in the West coast town of Derrybeg, and Stage 4 was another road race at Churchill.

After stage 1, the Ythan rider was in 6th position in the general classification for U11 and in 20th place overall for the U12s and well placed for Stage 2. However as he approached the start line for the hill climb, he reported that his front tyre was going flat. With no time to react, his tyre was pumped up and he was off. Despite a slow puncture Matthew managed to complete the TT in under 10 minutes and retain his 6th place position, which he would continue to hold following stage 3.

Stage 4 would see the riders again line up in Churchill for the final show down and challenge for the yellow jersey, which was being worn by the U12 Irish cross country mountain bike champion. As the lead car rolled out, the Ythan rider was unlucky to be caught up in a crash but fortunately the race was stopped, enabling him to rejoin the line up. The race was re-started and set off at a furious pace on the first 3km downhill section before reaching the first turn. The riders then travelled along flat roads below Churchill before another turn and the bottom of the long climb back to the start.

The atmosphere was electric as the large crowds lining the roads cheered the riders on as they pushed to the top of the hill and the final sprint to the line. Smith held onto his 6th position in the GC for the U11 age group and finished 23rd overall in the U12 category, out of 48 riders. The final hill climb saw the yellow jersey change hands in the last 100m of the race leading to an exciting finish.

Former Ythan CC youth riders Fraser Gault and Cameron Brown, lined up the U16 boys race, which comprised 5 laps of the same circuit. Gault led a break-away on the first lap but was caught by the chasing group. On lap 2 Cameron Brown made a break, and by the third lap had extended his lead to over a minute. During laps 4 and 5 the group started to close the gap, but the Ellon teenager showed his mettle by powering up the final hill to cross the line 30 seconds clear of the chasing pack to win the stage and claim 6th place overall in the GC for the U16 race.

AWCC Classified 10m TT at Drumoak
Sunday 11th August saw a large contingent of Ythan riders descend on a wet and windy Drumoak for the 10m TT organised by Aberdeen Wheelers. The riders were set off at the East end of Drumoak in the direction of Banchory, before turning left at Crathie and over the bridge to a left turn onto South Deeside Road. The finish was 5km down south Deeside Road, after the Drumoak bridge.

Fastest rider on the day was Jamie Davidson, with a time of 20:09 ahead of Martin Reynolds of AWCC (20:46). Ythan’s Alan Smith claimed 3rd place with a time of 22.22. The 3 riders claimed the top 3 prizes for the Category A riders.

Ythan’s Jenny Noble was first lady with a time of 25:50, claiming the prize for the 3rd placed category D rider.

The times of the other Ythan riders were:
Stuart King 24:03 13th place
Steve Rae 24:15 15th place
Carol Middleton 26:16 28th place
Wendy Gault 26:38 31st place
Paul Gordon 27:32 35th place and 3rd placed Category E rider
Tommy Hooper 33:37 40th place and a PB time

Race the Volcano
U14 rider Robert Smart was the only Ythanite in action in a very wet Edinburgh for the race round the grounds of Holyrood park in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat. The U14 race comprised 4 laps of a circuit which included the Queen’s Drive climb and the start/finish for the final stage of The Women’s Tour of Scotland, a major UCI stage race.

Despite the weather conditions, and his chain coming off just after the race start, Robert did well to complete the race, smashing his lap time in the process.

Scottish XC mountain bike championships
Across the water in Fife, Ewan Gronkowski claimed the coveted Masters Championship jersey at the 2019 Scottish XC mountain bike championships in Lochore Meadows, on Sunday the 11th August on a suitably wet and muddy course.

Mike Giles came 10th in the Grand Vet category.

Ewan’s daughter, Eilidh and fellow Ythan rider, Andrew Ingram, competed in the youth races, enjoying some muddy mtb fun.

Outstanding efforts and performances – well done all!

Sunday 18th August see riders from across Scotland descend on Ellon town centre for some exciting youth cycling action. The youth races start at 10am with races for U8, U10, U12, U14 and U16.

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