WITH HIS thick mop of curly hair, 16-year-old Callum Skinner cuts a distinctive figure, and he has a burgeoning reputation as a promising young cyclist, but it is still a surprise to find him approached by a stranger in an Edinburgh café. "Excuse me," says the man, "but are you Callum Skinner the cyclist?"
Skinner blushes. It isn't a stranger, he explains later, but a friend's father. Still, if he keeps making the progress he has made this season, which this week saw him presented with the inaugural Chris Hoy Trophy, then he might have to get used to t
his kind of attention.
Hoy, of course, cannot go anywhere without being recognised, but it was fitting that on Monday evening he presented the new trophy to his young pretender.
Edinburgh Council's decision to launch an annual award in recognition of the city's most promising young cyclists attracted some scorn, given their plans to demolish the Meadowbank Velodrome, but in Skinner, who this year broke the British 200m record on his way to becoming British youth sprint champion, the Chris Hoy Trophy is at least in deserving hands. Although, in actual fact, it is not in Skinner's hands – it is being "looked after" by his grandmother.
"It probably means more to my family, to be honest," he smiles. "I think my gran likes showing it off.
"But it was awesome to get the trophy from Chris, and to be the first winner of it is… pretty awesome as well. I wouldn't say I know him well, but I've met him a few times and he's always really nice and encouraging."
Even if he isn't being accosted by strangers in cafés, Skinner says he is aware of the Beijing effect – namely, the increased interest in his sport thanks to the feats of Hoy et al. "Yeah, it's funny – people are definitely more interested and keen to ask you about track cycling. Even at school, there are newspaper articles on the walls, so suddenly people are more aware of it."
It was the Athens Games, four years ago, that sparked his interest. "I really enjoyed the track cycling. I wasn't that aware of the people – even Chris – I just thought, wow, it looks cool.
"I had always been keen on cycling," Skinner continues, "but I'd never raced. I tried tons of other sports – badminton, fencing and football. But rugby was my main sport – I played prop forward for Boroughmuir, and we were Scottish champions.
"The first time I went to Meadowbank I went with my mum and brother, and we met Allister Watson (who runs the Edinburgh Racers club]. The track was pretty scary but I had a go, staying on the blue line (at the bottom] for quite a while. But after a couple of weeks I was all over it. What a kick – it's like motor sports, and I loved the rush going really fast into the banking."
After a year combining cycling and rugby Skinner realised he had a choice to make. He gave up rugby, and has gone from strength to strength as a cyclist, achieving that British record and youth sprint title in August, at the British championships in Newport.
More recently he took part in the British senior championships in Manchester, coming face to face in the sprint with another Scottish legend, Craig MacLean. At 37, MacLean is old enough to be his father, and Skinner says that it was "surreal" to be racing against him. "I didn't embarrass myself," he recalls, "but he won." Skinner also had a bruising introduction to senior keirin racing, being barged out of the way, and crashing heavily, after three-quarters of a lap.
Just as MacLean and Hoy emerged at the same time, it is interesting that Skinner is one of a similarly talented duo, with Kevin Stewart, the Dundonian who is a year older, his partner in crime. The two are great friends, as well as rivals. "We're rivals in everything," Skinner says. "We keep a list of who's better at what."
In the next couple of weeks they should find out if they have been selected for British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme. "I hope we both get on it," says Skinner, "because the British programme is the best in the world – we're very aware of that. I think we both have a fair chance."
The only cloud on Skinner's horizon is the demise of Meadowbank Velodrome, about which he makes a salient point. "Imagine if it was swimming, and there was only one pool in the whole country – and it was outdoors."
The full article contains 777 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
