ANOTHER Bute Festival of Cycling has come and gone, with cyclists from across Scotland and beyond enjoying a weekend of racing on the island, despite the weather eventually taking its toll.
The annual weekend, hosted by Bute Wheelers, offers a range of racing options including a hillclimb, time trial and road races, and receives strong support from across the local community.
Known in cycling circles as the ‘Rothesay Weekend’, the event has been running since the 1950s and continues to attract cyclists of all ages, including local club riders.
The weekend culminates in the awarding of Yellow Jersey prizes for the best male, female and junior riders, sponsored this year by Bute Island Foods.
Bute BackPackers once again generously sponsored the ten-mile time trial, while Fyne Homes sponsored the Serpentine hillclimb.
Janet and Jessica McAlister also once again awarded the Jim McAlister Memorial 2-up Team Time Trial trophy and prize.
The weekend was also once again generously supported by For Bute.
The organisers said support from numerous organisations, businesses and individuals, in all shapes and sizes, was essential to allowing the weekend of racing to go ahead.
The Saturday night social at the Bute Yard was also a great success.
Saturday’s weather was fairly decent, with a good crowd gathering on the Serpentine before riders headed out around the island for the 2-up Team Time Trial.
Sunday, however, brought a very different story.
The forecast rain duly arrived, with heavy rain continuing throughout the day.
The ten-mile Time Trial took riders out to Rhubodach and back, with a significant number of competitors battling through the difficult conditions.
However, a late assessment of the road race course brought bad news for organisers.
The amount of flooding on the roads meant organisers had little option but to cancel the race.
Instead, this year’s Yellow Jerseys were awarded based on the three completed races, with Hamish Armitt taking the men’s title, Amelia Tyler the women’s title and Lee McQueen the junior title.
Race winners
Serpentine Hillclimb
1st Male, – Toby Tanfield, TS Racing – 2 mins 0 secs.
1st Female, – Amelia Tyler, Handsling Alba Development RT – 2 mins 32 secs.
1st Bute Wheeler, – David Duffy – 2 mins 45 secs.
20-mile 2-up Team Time Trial
1st Male Team, – Hamish Armitt/William Taylor – 46 mins 31 secs.
1st Female Team, – Amelia Tyler/Emma Calder – 57 mins 34 secs.
1st Bute Wheelers Team, – Bob Templeton/Francois Lintermans – 59 mins 11 secs.
Ten-mile Solo Time Trial
1st Male, – Chris Smart, GTR – 22 mins 56 secs.
1st Female, – Amelia Tyler, Handsling Alba Development RT – 28 mins 25 secs.
