Road Cycling - Jack McLaren

CSSC Member Jack McLaren is 20 years old and started cycling only 2 years ago. He is in the Falkirk BC and is involved in all aspects of the sport from competing in the top national events to helping out club organise races.

"It was 2 years ago when I found a real passion for Road Cycling.....and what a journey it has been.

During my School days I was heavily involved with all aspects of sport, football being the main priority. Top Scorer for 2 years at senior level football and playing at Pro Youth level with a local team. I was on holiday in the South of France that summer when the epic success of Chris Hoy at the Olympics brainwashed me and the Tour de France passed our village just a few days later. After the amazement of seeing this magnificent sport I decided to give it a go.

When I arrived home I contacted my local club, Falkirk BC, and my love for the sport grew and grew. Road Cycling is not for the faint hearted. Self belief to achieve goals in one of the most physically demanding sports was my first hurdle.
After a long hard winter training I decided to really go for it and try the racing. My first season didn’t go to plan, a bad crash (not caused by me) at the start of the season ruined the excitement of racing. It took 5 months to fully recover and gain enough confidence to give it another go. The rest of that season was a big shock to the system and I found a whole new side to me, knowing what my limits were and realising this is not as easy as it looks on the television.

I have come on leaps and bounds since then and I am now completing at the top level of the sport in Scotland, competing in top national cycling events against the top class riders in the country. Falkirk BC is known as one of the leading clubs in cycling and I have to give the members who have supported me a lot of credit, as they have supported and encouraged me to get where I am now. In 2010, Falkirk BC was credited by Scottish Cycling to have hosted the best race in Scotland during the racing season which was a great achievement. The Billy Warnock Memorial Road race is in memory of a Falkirk BC member and it was great for this race to be recognised.

I recently competed in my first CSSC Cycling event at the Manchester Velodrome which was a superbly organised event and has to be up there with one of the best experiences of cycling so far. There were 30+ members turned up for the evening event which was a training session with coaches and a solo 1 lap time trial. My first few laps of this amazing circuit completely threw me, understanding the concept of cycling on the high sided corners and reminding myself my bike didn’t have any brakes was the first challenge. Then came my time trial, I gave everything I had and managed to win the event by two tenths of a second to take the title of Civil Service Track Champion.
My cycling season is in full flow at the moment and I will no doubt be writing again to let you all know my progress during the season. I have to thank Anne Young who is the secretary of the Central & Forth Valley area for securing a sponsorship deal which will make a big difference in helping toward costs for races."