Revenge is sweet for West Lothian cyclist Alexander

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Revenge certainly was sweet for one West Lothian cyclistLinlithgow road racing cyclist Alexander Ball (Project 1 Cycle Team) took his maiden Scottish National Series win at the Straiton Struggle in Ayrshire recently.In so doing, he took revenge on series leader Alex Luhrs (Team Moonglu) who beat him the previous weekend in round 3.The 120km-race takes on a hilly 9-mile circuit which is repeated 8 times, with the finish line at the top of a 3km climb.Ball was the sole Project 1 rider, so had to have his wits about him to combat the superior fire power of the bigger teams.

An early break stretched a lead to 1 minute until Ball bridged across with 8 other riders to create what would be the winning break of the day.

A 12-strong group of riders worked hard to establish a 3-minute lead on the peloton behind.As the race advanced to the finale a flurry of action in the front group culminated in Ball launching a powerful attack that stretched to a 15-second lead.

Eventually reeled in by the chasers, Ball was nevertheless pleased to see the group had been significantly reduced to just 7 after the pace got too hot for some of the riders.Ball said “After my attack I was disappointed to be pulled back by the lead group, but I soon realised my effort were not in vain, because I’d broken the backs of the bigger teams.”The group then stayed in tact until the final leg-sapping climb.