With the cycling season now at full speed and for those glued
to the Tour you may have noticed the array of National Championship jerseys on
the roads of Corsica and Nice. The date is now
pretty much standardised to the weekend before the Tour so allowing national
champions to show off there newly won jerseys should they dare to race 6 days
before the Grand Depart. For those of us mere mortals who have to wait in line for our club and team kit we might wonder how the clothing sponsors cope
with that short lead in. Still in what was a test event for the commonwealth
games in Glasgow in 2014 the city was closed by
a swathe of cycling that cut across the city centre from Glasgow Green to the West End . With a fair wheen of top notch riders out there
it seemed only right and respectful to go out and witness the spectacle. The
start was pretty busy and full of the cycling glitterati including the legendary Brian Palmer. Both the women and the men’s races followed a similar pattern.
The elite of the elite women came to the front after 3 laps and stayed there
slowly but surely distancing everyone else. In the men an outrageously fast first lap
laid the foundations of a cut and by lap three the 6 remaining riders were the ones left to ride out for the win. What a thrill to see this in our own
city and to have another chance in 2014. Lizzy Armitsted placed herself to the front for the whole race, took the initiative on the return from the west end and soloed to a fine win. Mark Cavendish glued himself to David Millar's wheel for the dizzying series of laps and after some skirmishes on the final nippy wee hills on lap proved himself a worthy champion when he sprinted home for the win.
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| tight corner ahead |
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| very tight |
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| 'me and cav had an agreement' |
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| 'me and davy didn't really talk beforehand' |
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| admiring glances all round |
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| tough at the top |
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