by The upcoming season is notable for Beth Morrow personally because of her recent exploits but, more importantly, it marks a milestone in Scottish cycling history.
Today, the Alba Road Team will start their first race of the 2024 season and, as Scotland’s first women’s continental pro team, their presence could not be more significant.
A top-level women’s cycling team has remained in Scotland for a long time but, with Scotland progressing to become a continental team this season, women’s cycling in this country takes an important step forward.
Morrow is in no doubt about the importance of having a Scottish women’s team racing at this level for the first time and this was a key factor in her decision to move to Scotland, which is led by sporting director, Bob Lyons, after having spent the last season at DAS-Handsling based in English.
“It’s so good that Scotland have a team at this level and being a continental team was a big reason to go into it – I knew I couldn’t miss out because this is part of of Scottish cycling history,” 21 years. – said Morrow.
“I’m very proud to be Scottish so it’s incredible to be part of this team.
“When I spoke to Bob (Lyons) and when he told the team his wishes, he really resonated with my feelings so it’s a great fit.
“Racing for a continental team, you get so many opportunities to be involved in big races that you don’t get in the UK, so it’s a big deal.”
That Morrow is racing this season is remarkable given the challenges the Edinburgh rider faced for more than half of last year.
In an accident in late 2022 Morrow suffered a severe concussion and, despite her initial hope that she would be back to normal within a few weeks, the side effects lingered much longer than she could have imagined ever.
The longevity of her symptoms was so long, Morrow only managed three races last season and her long battle to regain health was, she admits, one of the biggest periods of her career.
“I crashed in September 2022 – I hit my head really bad and immediately, I knew it wasn’t good,” she says.
“But little did I know how bad it would be and that concussions are a long-term thing. In the end, it affected me for seven months.
“It was so high – I would have times where my symptoms would go down but they would get much worse again so it was tough. Exercise, socializing, being on screen, studying and being around people made things worse – so really, it was hard to do everything I liked.
“I had moments when I was wondering if I would ever get better but I didn’t get too carried away, you can’t.
“Then I gradually started to get better and now I’m feeling good.”
Morrow will be part of the Alba team racing in the CiCle Classic in Leicestershire today, starting a race schedule that will see the squad race regularly in both England and Europe.
As one of the most experienced riders in Scotland’s under-10 squad, Morrow, appointed team captain, knows her teammates are counting on her to lead the way this season.
It’s a pressure Morrow is aware of, but she’s also hesitant to set any concrete goals for herself and the team since this is new ground they’ll be treading.
“I have a very different place in this team compared to previous teams,” says Morrow, who combines her cycling career with a degree in urban planning at Loughborough University.
“I’m one of the more experienced riders and I’m under a lot more pressure than I was before and that’s a big change but it’s a very exciting change.
“Hopefully I’ll rise to the challenge and use that pressure positively.
“I don’t have definite goals for positions in races because I don’t think setting goals like that helps me. Personally, I just want to race hard and see where that takes me.
“And as a squad, we want to show that we are a team to be reckoned with. We are hoping to get some podiums but more than anything, we want to use this first season to make a mark.”
Morrow may have ambitions for herself and her team but she knows Alba is likely to have a wider impact this season.
The Alba Road team is an inspiration to any young women rider in this country and the Scottish riders are living proof, for the first time ever, to make it as a women’s road race in this country, where there is no automatic. need to move down south or to Europe.
And that, Morrow says, is a big deal for the sport in this country.
“When I was a young rider, there were hardly any Scottish women’s teams, and certainly none at this level,” she says.
“So for young Scottish girls to see this opportunity is huge – young riders can now see that they have a right path to progress. I never had that when I was young so it’s great to have young female riders in Scotland now.”
