Scotia Women’s Road Race Series in 2022

Scotland’s National Women’s Road Race Series has been renamed to the Scotia Women’s Road Race Series, starting in March and finishing in September over five rounds.

Scotia Women’s Road Race Series in 2022

Scotland’s National Women’s Road Race Series has been renamed to the Scotia Women’s Road Race Series. Kick-starting proceedings, Berwick Wheelers will play host to the Reivers Road Race along the Anglo-Scottish Border, with the village of Etal hosting the traditional early season race on Saturday 26th March.

The second of five rounds will be hosted by Torvelo Racing on Saturday 14th May, with the Torvelo Road Race taking place in the central belt, with the course to be confirmed in due course. The Pippa Handley Road Race will take place on Sunday 5th June, with Edinburgh RC once again hosting the event. The race will use the traditional Howgate-Gladhouse circuit, approximately 20 miles south of the capital, the same course that is used for the Eastern Promise Road Race. The race is traditionally held over four undulating laps of Peeblesshire roads, with a climb to the finish line.

September will play host to the final two rounds of the series, with round four the traditional Sally Anne Low Memorial Road Race in Aviemore on Sunday 11th September, which will also incorporate the Scottish National Veterans Women’s RR Championship. This will be part of Cairngorm CC’s traditional cycling weekend, which includes the Cairn Gorm Hill Climb and 10 Mile Time Trial on the Saturday Afternoon and Sunday morning, respectively.

The roads surrounding the South Lanarkshire village of Strathaven will decide where the winner’s jersey will reside, as the Glenmarnock Wheelers Women’s Road Race on Sunday 25th September rounds out what promises to be an exciting year of racing. The last edition of the National Women’s Road Race Series was won by Beth Harley-Jepson (Jadan-Weldtite Vive le Velo) in 2019, and she said of the 2022 series:

“I had my first road race win as part of this series back in 2018 and it was great to come back in 2019 and win the series to top off the season. I love to ride on local roads in the Scottish Borders and Lothians, so will be looking forward to these races and to racing in some new locations in 2022. It’s fantastic to see this series back in the calendar after a couple of years of disruption, and hopefully there will be plenty of new faces getting involved and making it a competitive and compelling one.”

The name Scotia refers to the ancient Latin name for Scotland and is now used as the root noun for Scotland in most languages. This is similar to the name of the Men’s equivalent series – the Alba Road Race Series, which refers to the Gaelic name for Scotland.

Race Dates and Venues:
• Round 1: Reivers Road Race, Scottish Borders – Saturday 26th March
• Round 2: Torvelo Road Race, TBC – Saturday 14th May
• Round 3: Pippa Handley Road Race, Lothian – Sunday 5th June
• Round 4: Sally Anne Low Memorial Road Race, Aviemore – Sunday 11th September
• Round 5: Glenmarnock Wheelers Women’s Road Race, Strathaven – Sunday 25th September

The Men’s Alba Road Series