Flying John smashes track record
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CAITHNESS cyclist John Paul had a great start to the Edinburgh Grand Prix at Meadowbank.
He was the quickest qualifier in the 200m TT, smashing the Scottish all-comers’ track record with a 10.69s.
The previous record was 10.80s which was held by Craig MacLean since 1997 so it was quite a scalp to take considering Craig has won world, Olympic and Commonwealth Games titles. John finished on the podium, taking third overall.
Racing went to plan in the early knockout stages and John progressed comfortably through to the semi-finals where he met a GB team-mate.
John won the first ride but, with a long delay of about 90 minutes due to a shower of rain, he wasn’t feeling too good and was pipped on the line in the second ride.
It went to a decider and John’s GB team-mate got the win with a close finish on the line.
John was in the ride-off for third place. Again, he was up against another GB team-mate but somehow he found a bit of energy and won 2-0, taking third on the day.
John is going to be busy over the next two months now the summer senior sprint league series is in full flow with a competition almost every weekend.
