Dunfermline: First Scottish National Cycle Speedway Championship held

Queen Anne High School, the home of Fife Cycle Speedway, hosted the first-ever Scottish National Cycle Speedway Championships, which organisers have hailed as a success.

Held in collaboration with Scottish Cycling, with support from JDB All Trades, the "first of its kind" event saw competitors race in a series of sprint battles against up to three other riders at a time, with each race consisting of four laps of the 80m track.

Similar to motorcycle speedway, the pedal version sees competitors ride on a small, dirt oval track, with no brakes, sliding through the corners to take the fastest line, and is accessible, affordable and family-orientated.

Its popularity has been growing across Scotland and, after forming 2016, Fife Cycle Speedway was chosen to host the first national championships.

Almost 50 riders took part in the inaugural event. (Image: David Wardle.)

In the under-12 boys category, there was a Fife clean sweep of the podium, with Mac Brodie, Christopher Elliott and Harris Mitchell placing first, second and third, whilst Brodie was also third in the under-14 boys age group, with Alexander Rudge (Borders) and Nathan Slight (Edinburgh).

In the girls' category, Eva Grandison and Olivia Johnstone were second and third, with Borders' Anna Emond claiming gold, whilst Calan Cuthbert, Gareth Davies and Joshua Falconer completed another Fife clean sweep in the under-16 boys age group.

Cuthbert and Falconer also placed second and third in the under-18s, which was won by Edinburgh's Sam Stansfield, which Jason Keith and Danny Peoples were second and third in the vets category, with Edinburgh's Neil McPherson second.

Kayden Davidson claimed the senior men's title, with Sam Stansfield (Edinburgh) and Andy MacDougall (Glasgow) second and third, whilst Borders rider, Marianne Cameron, was the senior women's winner, with Alison Gilmour (Glasgow) and Vicki Moyes (Borders) second and third.

Anna Emond, Esme Cameron and Rowan Johnston swept the boards for the Borders in the under-12 girls category, which meant every competing club claimed a podium.

Craig Masson, head coach with Fife Cycle Speedway, said: "The conversations that I've been having with Scottish Cycling over the past few years have been really positive, and they're starting to embrace cycle speedway more, and recognise the value cycle speedway can bring to cycling.

"The feedback from everybody so far seems to have been really positive. We're delighted with the number of riders that were taking part. That was nearly 50 riders, and about half of that were under 18, which shows you that it's going to be really positive for the future.

"We were pleased with the number of participants, we were really happy with the atmosphere that seemed to be created. People seemed to feel that it was a well-run event.

"It was good, clean-cut racing, and really exciting racing as well, between the riders, and the first nine national champions were crowned.

"From a Fife point of view, it was really pleasing that, out of a possible 27, we had 14 podiums, so I'm delighted with that.

"Jason Keith won the veterans, Kayden Davidson won the seniors category, Mac Brodie won the under-12s, and Fife actually filled the podium for the under-12 boys, so we're delighted with the progress of the Fife riders.

"Getting the first one out the way, we can now gather constructive feedback and then tweak it for future years to make it even better, but I feel that we're off to a good start.

"It's given us a solid foundation to work from going forward and, hopefully, we can get more exposure for cycle speedway, but also grow the sport as well.

"Hopefully this is the catalyst for more riders being involved in each of the current four clubs in Scotland, but also that other clubs are starting to be formed, through having this competition now."