There’s only sixteen days to go until the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships finally get underway, and we’re pleased to reveal the finalists for the Dirt Crit Race The Worlds Final.

Dirt Crit is a familiar discipline amongst young riders across Scotland and is often the first competitive cycling discipline they will experience.

Through running the Ride The Worlds project, it is evident to see how accessible this format of cycle sport is to young, new, competitive riders, and this is thanks to both the amazing riding facilities in Scotland and also the event organisers who often volunteer their time to facilitate these opportunities. The Race The Worlds Dirt Crit Regional Series has provided an awesome opportunity to showcase a variety these cycling facilities, nationwide. and work closely with event organisers.

The first of the Race The Worlds Dirt Crit qualifier events took place on the 26^th May as part of the FJBC Summer series, a regular feature for youth riders on the Scottish Cycling calendar. The event had a great turnout, particularly for a midweek evening event, with over 120 riders taking part on the fun Callendar Estate MTB Trails. The course featured some tough climbs and technical features which led to some great battles across each of the categories.

The Galloway Hillbillies Bike Club did a fantastic job of hosting the second round on 3^rd June at Kirroughtree MTB Centre, a venue where the club helped host the British XC Championships just last year. The club worked tirelessly ahead of the event to put a great, flowing, course together which provided a great challenge to all levels of rider. The Hillbillies also ran an ‘Experience The Worlds’ event alongside the races, and it was great to see the younger riders getting on bikes and tackle a time trial obstacle course. We hope to see them on the Dirt Crit courses in the years to come.

On Sunday 17^th June, the series headed to Chatelherault Country Park for the third round, organised by the Clydesdale Colts. The course provided a variety of challenges, with a mixture of grass trails and dirt tracks through the stunning venue, and older categories were treated to a longer loop incorporating additional features. The club also had good success on the day, with Royal Albert CC, the Colt’s parent club, filling the top spots across a number of categories.

The fourth round of the series took place on 25^th June at Middleden, with the Meedies Bike Club hosting the event, which was also part of the multi-discipline Kingdom Crits series led by Active Fife. The event provided a great opportunity for local youths who had taken part in the regular Active Fife coaching sessions to take part in their first off-road race.

The last qualification event took part at Laggan Wolftrax, a fantastic off-road venue in the North region as part of a double header with the last round of the Race The Worlds Mini-DH series. Although not quite as busy as the Mini-DH event the following day, the course provided a fun challenget everyone, with a punchy climb and flowy, open, descent.

A huge thank you to all the clubs, volunteers and officials that have made this series possible, and if you want to get involved in the final, we’re still looking for some wonderful volunteers – we'd love to see you in Glentress on 6^th August. You can sign up as a volunteer, here!

Congratulations to the riders listed below who met the qualification criteria on the day and have been invited to compete in the series Final next month!

Finalists

Under 16 Boys

-          Gregor Calvert

-          Finlay Barr

-          Zach Barbour

-          Oliver Carter

-          Jamie Hall

-          Ewan Sexton

-          Greg Hislop

-          Rory Youngman

-          Benjamin Massey

-          Eric Till

-          Brodie Duncan

-          Fraser Anderson

-          Ollie Hamilton

-          Bruce Copeman

-          Connor McArthur

Under 16 Girls

-          Freya Mowbray

-          Isla Queen

-          Zoe Blyth

-          Charlotte-Rose Burton

-          Sarah Darling

-          Freya Gibson

-          Daisy Wilkinson

-          Ruth McDougal

Under 14 Boys

-          Zach Buchan

-          Reuben McLardie

-          Ralph Copeman

-          Toby Burton

-          Finn Crowther

-          Ruaridh Fulton

-          Finley Clark

-          James McConnel

-          Corey Davidson

-          Nathan Keddie

-          Joel Gillan

-          Rohan Porter

-          Danny Allsop

-          Rory Youngman

-          Reilly Gilmour

Under 14 Girls

-          Olivia Poole

-          Katie McGurk

-          Izzy Barbour

-          Isla Cant

-          Emma Hall

-          Georgina Bark

-          Ailsa Queen

-          Aurelia Sales

-          Isla Oag

-          Eleya Mold

-          Freyja Shackley

-          Orla Burn

-          Eilish Gaffney

Under 12 Boys

-          Guy Rorke

-          Calum Lambie

-          Josh Stewart

-          Aaron Tresidder

-          Angus Williamson

-          Sam Kingan

-          Murray Clark

-          Reuben McCloskey

-          Thomas McCloud

-          Alan Marshall

-          Alexander Mullen

-          Jacob Lindsay

-          Archie McNeill,

-          Aidan Stevens

-          Ryan kyle

Under 12 Girls

-          Ella McQueen

-          Eilidh Scally

-          Emily Cooper

-          Lily Cant

-          Zunairah Mold

-          Lucy Robb

-          Boo Williams

-          Jenna Youngman

-          Keira Corbett

-          Sarah McCormac

-          Isla Reekie

-          Eilidh Boyle

-          Louisa Fraser-Moody

-          Ally Clifford

-          Ellie Cowan

If you are on the list of qualifiers and have not received an email from the Ride The Worlds team, then please contact us as soon as possible – ridetheworlds@scottishcycling.org.uk

Best of luck to all that have qualified and we hope to see you shredding it on the Glentress trails on Sunday 6^th August!