Gillian Pratt - Abriachan Interview

Not only is she one of the fastest ladies in the series, she is also rides for last years team series winners, Team Leslie Bikeshop.

Gillian is a great, friendly, and you'll often hear her out on the course in the afternoon races cheering on her team mates. This goes to show the team spirit at Team Leslie, which Gillian finds beneficial to her racing.

We managed to catch her in a break between supporting the afternoon races to find out how her race had gone and what her plans for 2013 were.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Gillian, and good luck for the rest of the season.

So, Gillian, how did you get on in the race today?

Today I came in first master female, it was a thoroughly enjoyable race on a brilliant course. It was a shame that it rained but there’s not much you can do about the weather in April in Scotland! There was really good competition today, she was giving me a really good run for my money. Every time I turned back I saw her and realised I’d have to go even faster!

What club do you ride for and what bike do you race on?

I’m part of Team Leslie Bikeshop. The support you get from other team members and their family at races is fantastic. Not to mention the support from Andy and Fiona at the shop. I race on a Scott Spark. It’s new to this season, I raced on it last season and liked it so much that I decided to keep it for the 2013 season.

What are your aspirations for this season?

I hope to have another successful season in the masters category and hopefully move up to the Elite category at the end of the season after a few years in the masters category. Hope to move up to elite next season after a couple of years in masters. The next race I’ll be at is the SXC at Cathkin Braes. Team Leslie is going up for a training day in a few weeks so it’ll be good to ride the course with everyone.

How do you balance your training with the real world?

I don’t find it too difficult to balance between racing, training and working. It’s a shame I have to work for a living tho! Sometimes you wish you could just be a normal person who didn’t have the added stress of training and racing but then you go to an event like today and it makes it all worthwhile.