Strathdee and Fletcher take opening round crowns at the first round of 2026/27 HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series
Muir of Ord returned to the SCX calendar to host the opening round of the 2026/27 HUPcc Scottish Cyclocross Series.
The forecast rain held off at the Black Isle Showground to give a warm, sunny day of racing for the northernmost race of the series, which once again served up a flat, fast course, but with plenty of technical challenge.
In the female race, Ishbel Strathdee of Team HUP shot off the line and took a commanding lead in the senior race, albeit she was chased by junior rider Olivia Poole of Specialized Youth Development Team. Strathdee would get the better of Poole overall, with both riders winning their respective categories. Eileen Roe and Kate Mactear would round out the female senior podium, whilst Mairi Dowens and Emma Campbell took second and third in the female junior race. Karen Outram took the victory in the M40F, with Sian Tovey winning the M50F and Helen Winton picked up where she left off from last season’s clean sweep of wins in the SCX series in the M60F.
The final race of the day was the open senior, junior and M40 race. Charles Fletcher took an early lead and was chased by Grant Scott and Pete Matthews in a hard fought battle. M40 Scottish Champ Richard MacDonald took a strong lead in the M40 race and Rhuairdh Fulton led the junior race. Unfortunately due to an incident on the course the race was red flagged and timing was taken on the previous lap. Scott and Matthews shared second place after their closely fought battle in the senior race, with Fletcher standing on the top step. MacDonald and Fulton took the win in the M40 and junior categories respectively.
In the youth U14 and U16 races there was some great racing in every category. The U16s saw Falkirk Junior Bike Club riders Gregor McNaught and Isla Reekie take the wins in the open and female races. McNaught took and early lead in the open race and held it to the finish, while Reekie had a close battle with Emie Smith but opened a gap in the latter stages of the race.
The U14 races saw Edinburgh Bike Club’s Alex Faraday and Sophie Tomb of Glasgow Riderz taking the victories in their respective categories
The opening race of the day saw the Open M50 and M60 races, in which Pedal Power’s Graeme Cross took an early lead from the whistle in the M50 and wasn’t seen again by the chasers. Last year’s M50 series champion Dougie Cameron took second on the day and Lee Campbell taking third. Kenny Riddle had a very strong race winning the M60 and crossing the line 3rd overall.
The Under 8’s, 10’s and 12’s also had a great day of racing and fun on their separate course at the Showground.
Manual results are available and can be found in the Scottish Cyclocross Facebook group, and on the British Cycling website https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/338978/HUPcc-Scottish-Cyclocross-Series-R1-Muir-of-Ord
Watch the highlights video here:
Video courtesy of CJM Visuals
Don’t delay, get your entries in for round two today! Entries close on the 18th October.
