Stage One
Firstly we have to thank the lady and gentleman who told us that the Women’s Tour of Scotland had been stopped due to the flooding on the south Loch Leven road – elsewise we’d still be up there at Cleish with the clouds and sheep.
I guess hunters would have found us in the spring?
We drove up to the Cleish hill prime from the Dunfermline side and up near Loch Glow there were floods with a lot of gravel and soil washed on to the road, so the cancelation was no surprise, really.
But our intrepid editor, Martin had been all the way up to Dundee to see the start…
And on a day such as this there was plenty of ‘hot stuff’ being applied.
VeloVeritas has never seen so many motos – 32 police bikes plus National Escort Group bikes – but we’re told that the Tour of Britain has twice as many of the beasts.
Former double British Criterium Champion, Scotland’s Eileen Roe was on hand to carry out PR duties.
The Lotto team with Katie Archibald representing Scotland lead the minute’s silence for the Belgian team’s compatriot on the World Tour team, young Bjorg Lambrecht who died as a result of a seemingly innocuous crash during Stage Three of the Tour of Poland.
Then it was time for the roll out on a day which worsened by the minute.
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Stage Two
Any excuse to head up to The Trossachs is a good one and the big squall which blew through before the race arrived was the only rain we saw.
Some folks had taken to the hills to get a better view as the team vehicles hurtled up The Duke’s Pass.
After what seemed like every motorbike in Scotland had roared past us the lead group of 10 came up with four Bigla’s at the head of affairs.
Queen of the Mountains from Stage One – where the organisers took a leaf out of the Tour de France book and honoured primes won prior to the race being curtailed – Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla Pro Cycling & Denmark) was a little of the back, regaining her composure, having nabbed the mountains points with the prime line not at the top but on the false flat further down the climb.
Also not so far of the back of the group was Scot, Anna Shackley and very much looking the part.
There were no Scots in the second group but number three, Scottish Ladies Road Race Champion, Jennifer George was there in the third group.
