Atkinson wins hill climb
SHETLAND Wheelers’ annual hill climb competition was held on Saturday at Wormadale.
Originally organised for the summer but cancelled due to fog it was agreed to reschedule the event. Five keen cyclists turned up on what was a very cold and icy but unusually still morning ready to face the lung-bursting gradients of the Wormadale hill.
Christine McLean started fast, trying to give herself an advantage over the men before the road ramps up, but John William Simpson had caught her by the first corner and drawn ahead while Robin Atkinson stealthily glided past both riders and took the lead.
Although McLean managed to catch up with Simpson by the top corner either the thought of being overtaken by a woman or the sight of Atkinson pulling clear seemed to give him the impetus to turn up the power.
There followed an impressive sprint to the finish with Atkinson winning by a mere two seconds over Simpson. McLean came in third followed by Barrie Scobie Jnr who put in a great closing effort to pull ahead of Colin Smith.
This was an excellent set of results produced especially bearing in mind the cold conditions and the fact that the event has been held in the cycling “off season”. Robin’s continued triathlon training has obviously paid off.
Meanwhile local riders Carlos Riise and Christine McLean were among the winners at the recent Scottish Cycling Awards.
Riise won the senior category and middle distance category of the bar awards for time trialling with McLean beating off stiff competition to win the women’s category.
Supported by ScottishPower Renewables, the Scottish Cycling Awards celebrated an unforgettable year in cycling.
Derek Christie from Scottish Power Renewables said: “We would like to congratulate everyone who played a part in this year’s awards.
“Cycling as a sport is attracting a lot of interest and the continuing investment, from both an industry and sponsorship perspective, and is providing opportunities for cyclists and enthusiasts alike, as well as raising the profile further.
“We are looking forward to seeing even more talent emerging and to celebrating further achievements.”
McLean was recently named Shetland Sportsperson of the Year in awards sponsored by the Shetland Recreational Trust and The Shetland Times.
