The first Super Six of the year was held at Gifford on Saturday, to our shame, VeloVeritas were not in attendance. But we’ve tried to make amends by interviewing third placed Rab Wardell – read on.
Were you happy with 2009, Rab?
“Not really, I enjoyed my year with Kinesis but I never really had the form that I wanted.
“I think I was over-trained by the time Girvan came around.
“I wanted to go well but I think I did too much. After that there was the Ras and the Tour de Beauce in Canada – I enjoyed those races but I was never really going the way I wanted to be.”
Are you still with Kinesis, Rab?
“I’m still with Kinesis but it’s a different structure; it’s called the Kinesis-Morvelo Project.
“Morvelo are a company who are based in Blackpool, they make T-shirts and clothing; it’s cool stuff.
“It’s not a results driven team, at the centre is the team website, none of the riders are full time – we all work and all have a blog on the site.
“It’s about how we live our lives around cycling – there are road, track and off road riders and we all share a passion for the bike.”
What’s your programme for 2010?
“I’ll be riding a dual programme, road and mountain bike.
“But I decided back last September that I wanted to focus predominantly on the mountain bike, again.
“My road racing will be to support that; I’ll be riding six of the seven rounds of the Scottish Mountain Bike Series; the British Mountain Bike Series; the Scottish and British Mountain Bike Championships; a couple of races in Turkey and an Alpine stage race.
“Road-wise the biggest race will be the Tour Doon Haem; I’ll be riding on the road for Glasgow Wheelers – that’s part of my arrangement with Kinesis.”
Tell us about Gifford, please.
“It was the usual circuit (see our course recce from a previous edition), eight laps, and conditions were good – usually there’s wind and that splits the bunch on the climbs.
“We had nine riders there from the ‘Wheelers and we decided that we would cover every break.
“I went away on lap two with Matt Kipling (MTS), Callum Wilkinson (Endura Racing) and Michael Nicholson (Dooleys) and we stayed away all day.
“It did look like we might get caught at the end, though – Wheelbase and Leslie Bikes were chasing.
“Every one in the break worked well, no one gave up – but it’s not often that I’m in a position in a road race where I’m sprinting for the win.”
Hindsight?
“I was going to attack them late and try and go it solo but the bunch was chasing hard and it was a case that if I broke up the group then maybe they’d be caught and the bunch would chase me down; instead of sprinting for the win, I’d be 20th.
“Then late on, maybe a third of a lap to go, Matt broke a spoke in his front wheel, when that happened we all hesitated – I thought then that maybe I could beat him in the sprint so I didn’t attack.
“He was always the danger man; he’s pretty quick at the end and he won the sprint, Callum was second and I was third with Michael fourth; Davie Lines won the bunch sprint.”
And are you still with Scottish Cycling?
“Yes, Glasgow Development Coach, it’s quiet over the winter with the bad weather and shorter days but we’re getting back into the swing now.
“We’ve had a change off coaching culture, we’re going to hit the schools and also help the clubs more with coaching – we’re trying to get more youths racing and raise the level of youth racing.”
Goals for 2010 for Rab Wardell?
“When I made the decision, last September, to go back off road, I set myself targets: to win the Scottish Mountain Bike Series and Scottish Mountain Bike Championships; to be in the top ten of the British Mountain Bike Series and to stand on a podium at British level.
“I’m asking a lot of myself, but those are my goals.”
Maybe he is asking a lot of himself but ancient Chinese proverb say; ‘Man with no target hit nothing.’: Thanks to Rab and I’ve asked him to keep us clued up on that mountain bike stuff as the season progresses.
For more, why not check out Rab’s new team site and his own blog.
Result
‘A’ Race
1 86 Matthew Kipling MTS Cycle Sport 02:36:31
2 84 Callum Wilkinson Endura Racing same time
3 34 Rab Wardell Glasgow Wheelers 1 same time
4 10 Michael Nicolson Dooley’s Cycles RT 1 3
5 18 David Lines Endura Racing 1 26
6 9 Graham McGarrity Dooley’s Cycles RT V1 same time
7 41 Alister Watt Granite City RT V1 same time
8 64 Scott Macrae Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov 1 same time
9 56 Eddie Addis Stirling Bike Club 2 same time
10 83 Ross Crook Edinburgh RC same time
11 21 Martin Coopland Falkirk BC 3 same time
12 46 Dillon Byrne Herbalife/Wheelbase Elite same time
13 58 Eddie Cowle Stirling Bike Club 3 same time
14 69 Richard Chapman www.thebicycleworks.com 2 same time
15 77 Liam Hassan V3 same time
16 75 Colin Ash 1 same time
17 59 Calum McLean Stirling Bike Club 2 same time
18 20 Finlay Young Equipe Velo Ecosse / Montpelier J3 same time
19 53 Scott McCrossan Pedal Power RT same time
20 71 David Lindsay www.thebicycleworks.com 3 same time
21 27 Alan Thomson Glasgow Couriers 2 same time
22 2 Calum MacLean Edinburgh RC 3 same time
23 47 Jonny Knox Herbalife/Wheelbase J1 same time
24 5 Mark Skilling Dales RT Scotland 3 same time
25 4 Kenneth Armstrong Ayr Roads CC 3 same time
26 23 Franco Porco Falkirk BC V3 same time
27 50 Andrew Matheson Musselburgh Roads CC V2 same time
28 35 Dougie Young Glasgow Wheelers 2 U23 same time
29 73 Craig Adams 2 same time
30 65 John David McCaffery Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov 3 same time
31 8 Stuart MacGregor Dooley’s Cycles RT V2 same time
32 68 Alistair Robinson Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov 2 same time
33 19 Lewis Oliphant Equipe Velo Ecosse / Montpelier 2 same time
34 6 Greg Brown Dooley’s Cycles RT J2 same time
35 32 Keith Smith Glasgow Wheelers 2 same time
36 17 Derek Walker East Kilbride RC 2 same time
37 22 James McPake Falkirk BC 3 same time
38 11 James Smith Dooley’s Cycles RT J2 same time
39 49 Damian Smith Herbalife/Wheelbase 2 same time
40 85 James Dunlop Herbalife/Wheelbase same time
41 40 Veli-Matti Raikkonen Granite City RT 2 same time
42 43 Tommy Murray Hawick CC 3 same time
43 3 Ian Norris ActivCycles/Fentimans 2 same time
44 24 Barry Crumlish Glasgow Couriers 3 same time
45 1 Gary Hand Pedal Power RT Elite same time
46 48 Stuart Reid Herbalife/Wheelbase 2 same time
47 26 Jamie Kennedy Glasgow Couriers 2 same time
48 55 Peter Sammon Sandy Wallace Cycles 3 same time
49 62 Matthew Hamilton Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov same time
50 52 Niall Aitken Pedal Power RT 2 01:34
51 30 Graeme Neagle Glasgow Wheelers 3 same time
52 60 Graham Mercer Team Icarus V3 01:36
53 14 Peter Murdoch East Kilbride RC 3 01:46
54 72 Alastair McNicol www.thebicycleworks.com 3 U23 02:26
55 13 David Murdoch East Kilbride RC 3 03:08
56 33 Grant Stevenson Glasgow Wheelers 3 08:02
‘B’ Race
1 30 Craig Dale Edinburgh University Triathlon 4th 01:57:11
2 70 Jack Barrett Stirling Bike Club J/4th 7
3 25 Christopher Underwood Dumfries CC 4th/V40 11
4 77 Martin Ferry same time
5 82 Gerald Grant Falkirk BC 4th same time
6 53 David Thomson Johnstone Wheelers CC 4 same time
7 61 Callum Gough Onimpex RT-BIORACER V50/3rd same time
8 26 Lee Anderson East Kilbride RC 4th same time
9 80 Eileen Roe U23 W same time
10 2 Georges Avraam Edinburgh RC V50/4th same time
11 5 Charlie Billington Edinburgh RC 4 same time
12 55 Keith Johnston Lakeland Cycle Club 4th same time
13 10 Angus Elliott Edinburgh RC 4 same time
14 22 Craig McCulloch City of Edinburgh RC same time
15 3 Andrew Underwood Glasgow Wheelers same time
16 24 John Paterson Dumfries CC 4th same time
17 29 Jamie Maxwell Edinburgh University CC 4 same time
18 74 Brendan Roe Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov V50 same time
19 67 Steve Beech Sandy Wallace Cycles V60 same time
20 75 Randle Shenton Team Swift 3 same time
21 43 Craig Holmes Glasgow Nightingale CC 4th same time
22 38 Keith Laird Glasgow Couriers – DB Developme 4 same time
23 59 Mark Murray Moray Firth Cycling Club 4th same time
24 57 Eamonn Staunton Mid Argyll Triathlon Club 4th same time
25 1 Graham Barclay Team Leslie Bikshop – Right Mov V50 same time
26 20 Ian Wallace Edinburgh RC 4 same time
27 7 Phil Deveney Glasgow Nightingale CC 4th same time
28 69 Francis Curran Sandy Wallace Cycles 4 same time
29 64 Jordan Stokes Pedal Power RT J/4th same time
30 63 Barry Duncan Pedal Power RT 4th/V40 same time
31 13 Alex Hale Edinburgh RC 4 23
32 28 Allan Love Edinburgh University CC 4th same time
33 58 Andrew Wylie Mid Argyll Triathlon Club 4th 30
34 79 Cameron Milne 4th same time
35 56 Paul Selfridge Mid Argyll Triathlon Club 4th 01:01
36 14 Alisdair Hall Edinburgh RC 4th 01:04
37 40 Terence McMahon Glasgow Ivy CC 4 01:12
38 19 Huw Thomas Edinburgh RC 01:23
39 68 Daniel Curran Sandy Wallace Cycles 4 same time
40 60 Lindsay Gordon Musselburgh Roads CC 4th 02:33
41 27 Brian McCardle East Kilbride RC 4th 02:42
42 85 John Milligan Dundee Wheelers CC 4th/V 02:51
43 47 Malcolm Paterson Glasgow Nightingale CC 4 04:44
44 73 Wilco Van Wijgerden Stirling Bike Club 4th 06:57
45 42 Scott Glasgow Glasgow Nightingale CC 4 same time
46 36 Michael Paton Falkirk BC 4 09:17
47 72 Owen Philipson Stirling Bike Club 4 same time
48 44 William Logie Glasgow Nightingale CC 4th same time
49 15 Marek Jurasinski Edinburgh RC 4th 09:20
50 46 Duncan McIntyre Glasgow Nightingale CC 4 10:30
51 45 Jacob Lovatt Glasgow Nightingale CC 4 same time
52 51 Michael Graham Hawick CC V50 15:20
53 11 Anne Ewing Edinburgh RC 2nd 16:24
54 71 Kevin Jackson Stirling Bike Club 4 same time
55 76 Allan Duncan 17:00
56 49 David Lang Glasgow Wheelers V60 19:34
57 50 Ally Wight Hardrock cc 20:41
58 81 David Hamill 26:33:00
59 41 Scott Forshaw Glasgow Nightingale CC 4th at 1 Lap
