Having been crowned the Lloyds Bank National Road and Circuit Series champion for the 2024 season, Eilidh Shaw will now step up to the pro peloton for the 2025 season with UAE Development Team.
Ahead of the winter season, we spoke to Eilidh about the national series, Alba Development Road Team, and the inspiration of Scottish riders before her.
Speaking of being crowned the winner of both series, Shaw said: “It was an amazing feeling to win those titles. It’s been a great season this year and I am very grateful for all the support from everyone around me – my family, friends, my coach and everyone from Alba.
“I came into the first national series races this year with a good winter of training but I wasn’t sure where my racing form was at having not raced much during the 2023 season.”
Coming back from an injury-ridden 2023, Shaw lined up to the first race of the season at the 8th Anexo CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic in March, and showed her ferocious form, sprinting to second behind El King.
Another strong performance at the East Cleveland Classic a month later saw the Scottish rider take the white leader’s jersey after a dramatic finish up Saltburn Bank, finishing second behind junior sensation Cat Ferguson.
Shaw said: “Going into the leader’s jersey after round two was unexpected, but after that, I started to believe the series could be a big goal to aim for this year. My favourite race had to be the CiCLE Classic. It has everything I love about cycling - fast attritional racing up some punchy climbs with a bit of mud and some gravel.”
An unlucky race at the Lincoln Grand Prix, where Shaw was involved in an early crash, saw the 19-year-old slip to third in the series rankings. Her mojo returned stronger for the Lloyds Bank National Circuit Championships in Darlington, firing to the silver medal, before tackling the circuit series in June and July.
“My favourite crit was at the British championships this year. The course was fast and technical, and I remember feeling really good on the bike that day.
“It was also my first time racing the circuit series this year. Each course was new to me which made it even more exciting. Going for a series title is something I’d never done before – it feels like there’s a race within a race. There is something special about crits, racing around town centres and surrounded by a big crowd of people. It’s a great atmosphere!”
Shaw took multiple podiums in the circuit series, collecting victories at the rounds in Guildford and Dudley, and second places at the Colne and Beverley rounds to be crowned the queen of crits.
Returning to the National Road Series, a ninth place at Lancaster and fifth place at Ryedale catapulted Shaw back into the leader’s jersey, before she held on to second place in the final round in Northumberland to secure her second white jersey of the year.
From having an injury-ridden season in 2023 to being in the best form of her life this year, Shaw’s talent on the domestic circuit and abroad has caught the eyes of the pro peloton, with the young rider stepping up to the UAE Development Team next season. But first, Shaw will be racing on the track, and you can find her on the Glasgow boards at the local track league – also the stomping ground to some of her riding heroes.
“From a young age, I’ve looked up to Katie Archibald and Neah Evans. I’m lucky to have two Scottish female role models to look up to, particularly in the form of world and Olympic champions across the track disciplines.
“I am really looking forward to next season, getting stuck into some UCI racing, gaining experience and learning at this level.”
