WHEELBASE’S DAVE DUGGAN TAKES THE WIN!

Congratulations to Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team rider Dave Duggan who took the Scottish Road Race Championships at the weekend!

Saturday the 24th of July saw the Scottish National Road Race Championships take place at the Bridge of Alford in Aberdeenshire in dry and very hot conditions. This demanding, hilly circuit included the infamous Suie climb each lap with the finish line of the race being positioned at the very top of this arduous climb. Riders had to cope with the excessive heat for the duration of the race, ensuring they stayed fed and watered throughout the race and inevitably dehydration and fatigue definitely played their part in the final result of the day.

The infamous Suie climb influenced the outcome of the Scottish Road Race Championships from early on

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli team was well represented at the Scottish Road Race Championships with Davie Lines, Dave Duggan and Finn Crockett all taking the start; With 3 riders very quickly making a break Davie Lines decided he fancied a day up the road and rode strongly to leave the bunch behind to bridge across to the leading group. Davie and his fellow escapees rode strongly up the Suie climb with Finn Crockett covering the front of the remaining bunch; as the lead group began to fade Davie Lines eventually found himself out front alone with a group of 3 riders chasing behind him as the hilly circuit continued to eliminate more and more riders from the sharp end of the race.

Davie Lines and his fellow escapees did well to cope with the heat of the day

Finn Crockett does his bit to monitor the front of what was left of the bunch while Davie was up the road

Davie finds himself isolated in the lead and with all the work to do on his own

It was a brave ride from Davie, but eventually the chasing group proved to much for him to keep at bay and he was caught coming off the climb for the penultimate time. As Gavin Dempster of Torvelo Racing made the catch Wheelbase’s Dave Duggan jumped on his wheel and went on the attack to see if they could make it to the finish after negotiating the brutal Suie climb for one last time.

With Davie Lines caught it was down to Dave Duggan to see if he could hold on to the finish line

Dave Duggan and Gavin Dempster continued to ride strongly on the the last lap with the Suie climb set to decide the race

Dave Duggan remains composed despite the demanding conditions and readies himself for the final chase for the line

As the racers came into view for the last time it was our own Dave Duggan who cleared the crest of the Suie climb with a considerable lead giving him enough time to get in his hands in the air to celebrate his impressive win and take the Scottish Road Race Championships! A delighted Duggan thanked the organisers and officials for putting the race on and said…

“I’m pretty delighted to be honest. It’s been a goal of mine for a long time, but I knew it would be very difficult to achieve, and I was never that sure I was going to achieve it. It was draining from every aspect, the heat and trying to get enough fluids on board, and eat enough food so I was always on the back foot trying to stay fuelled with it being such a long race.”

In the melee for the line behind Davie Lines had recomposed himself and focused on working for teammate Finn Crockett helping to position him for the sprint for the remaining places with the work paying of and seeing Finn place a strong 4^th, just missing out on the Bronze medal. Davie Lines, the most aggressive rider of the day who made a lot of the most important moves rolled in for a strong 13^th place in what was a tremendous day for Dave Duggan and the Wheelbase Team.

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli rider Dave Duggan gets his arms in the air and celebrates a fantastic win

Dave was overjoyed with his win following this particularly gruelling edition of the Scottish Road Championships

He’s a grafter! Davie Lines worked solidly to animate the race before slotting into the role of being the perfect teammate

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

All Photos by Martin Williamson of Velo Veritas. Special thanks to him for the fantastic images of the race and Dave’s win.