CAPITAL cycling star James McCallum believes the sport in Scotland is ready to undergo a revolution this season with the introduction of a new competition that gets underway with the Field and Lawn Goblin Ha' Road Races in East Lothian this weekend.
The Scottish Power Renewables SuP6R Six Series has drawn on the features of successful events around the world and has been designed to create a more competitive environment for riders, as well as high-quality entertainment for spectators.
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great deal of work has gone into setting up the competition, as McCallum should know. The 28-year-old now combines racing for the Plowman Craven Team with an admin job at the sport's governing body, Scottish Cycling. And it was his experience of international racing that helped shape the series.
McCallum, a track bronze medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, said: "There is no reason why our sport can't be one of the biggest in the country. The reason it isn't is because nobody has got their finger out and done anything about it. It's our sport so we are the only people who can make it better.
"The sport is steeped in tradition. A lot of that is good for cycling but a lot of the tradition is holding it back."
McCallum looked at the racing programmes from recent years and had no difficulty in identifying the major flaws.
"One of the biggest things was trying to streamline the calendar. We had almost 300 events over 30 weeks. There were too many races in different parts of the country. We were lucky if we were getting 30 or so people to a race. We looked at it and realised that if we were going to increase participation, we had to add some value to it.
"So we opted for the SuP6R Six Series. There will be leaders' jerseys and things just to have a bit of attachment to it."
Among the other factors that were holding Scots back on their forays across the Border, in McCallum's opinion, was the fact that the domestic racing scene failed to prepare them properly for the greater intensity they inevitably encountered. That is another item that has been addressed by the new format.
"The courses up here were always brutally hard and the same ten people were the only ones in contention for the win," he added. "The way the series has been set up, the races will be on smaller loops. It means that people will have to race. The thing is that when you race bikes, it's not how long you race for, it's how fast you go. When guys go down to England to race, the distance isn't the problem, it's how fast they go. And it's about trying to change that mindset. If things are more competitive, you will get more people coming through.
As a result, the races in the series will be over no more than 65 miles. The first of the six events, organised by Edinburgh Road Club will set the tone for the series and, McCallum hopes, make the races more accessible for spectators. "They are all on circuits of no more than 15 miles. It will be a bit more repetitive for riders but it will bring it to the public's attention. We are taking it through towns and trying to make those towns part of it.
"The first thing we've done is scheduled all the races for the first weekend of the month at the same time. We are also using EntryCentral, which is an online entry system. It makes life so much easier for riders and organisers. As for the general public, the first two races have been really well accepted by the local community. In Gifford, the whole town is behind it. It's not a huge economic impact for them but hopefully the riders and spectators will give a little something to the town.
"The thing about the race is that the laps are relatively short, so people can pick their spot on the course and see the race go past a few times."
McCallum will miss this week's race as he is competing south of the Border, but he will be closely monitoring how the day unfolds. A support race will take place earlier in the day and the main event will start at 1pm.
For McCallum, the key measure of the event's success will be how riders react to the new format.
"The only other option was to keep racing in Scotland the way it was", he said. "That clearly wasn't working. Everyone is warming to it. It's a big change and it's quite hard for people to accept change but it will get there."
