Alba Development Road Team took on the first British Cycling Women's National Road event of the season, leaving with second, fifth, and fiftheenth place finishes, along with a spot at the top of the team standings.
The all-female elite cycling team represented Scotland in grand fashion at the CiCle Classic in Rutland over the weekend, coming away with three top 15 finishes.
Scotland’s Eilidh Shaw took second place, finishing just out of the top spot on the podium, while Shaw’s teammates Amelia Tyler and Beth Morrow picked up fifth and fifteenth places respectively. Seven members of Alba kicked off the 2024 season by competing in the CiCle Classic, with six racers finishing within the top 50.
Alba DRT Performance Director and Team Manager Bob Lyons says he was incredibly pleased with how the team performed during their first race of the 2024 season.
He said: “We’re very happy with the outcome of this first race of the season. We’ve come off a really solid winter of training and a lot of hard work, and now we’re looking to deliver. The whole team performed well this weekend and we have a lot of confidence going into the next race – not just as a team, but as individual racers working hard to bring home a win.”
(L-R) Alice McWilliam from Hess Cycling Team, Eluned King from Lifeplus-Wahoo, and Eilidh Shaw from Alba Development Road Team.
Of the other team Alba riders who participated in the CiCle Classic, Arianne Holland finished 24th, Keira Bond finished 42nd, and Emma Matthews and Millie Skinner came in 50th and 51st, respectively.
Next up for Alba DRT is the Peaks 2 Day event which will give the team an opportunity to work on strategy and build on their early season success, as they prepare to take on the best in the world at Ronde de Mouscron in Belgium on April 1.
Lyons adds: “The team performed well but now we need to focus on the next races. We had a great weekend but there are always things to work on an things that could have gone better, as individuals and as a team. We have some tough races coming up – Belgium which is a class one UCI competition and we have another British National race in mid-April.
“Right now, we need to keep the momentum going and work out how we win the next race. As a team, we’re on top of the British Elite standings. That is a great place to be in to start the season off, but we still have a lot of racing left this season and I have nothing but confidence in this team to perform at the highest level and win.”
For more information on Alba, follow the team on Twitter at @AlbaRoadTeam, Instagram on albaroadteam and Facebook at AlbaDevelopmentRT