HELENSBURGH riders competing in a national mountain bike series enjoyed respectable finishes recently as the events near their climax.

The SDA Scottish Downhill Championships consist of four events: in Glencoe, Innerleithen, Fort William and Glenshee.

Having began in June after a near-two year absence, the second and third stages took place in August and September - and several local representatives have been involved.

During the most recent event, held on the World Cup Track at the Nevis Range in Fort William on September 12, Burgh rider Finn Holling finished seventh overall and was the fourth-best placed Scot in the 13-14 boys category.

The venue has been home to the UCI Fort William World Cup since 2002, and the World Cup track is the longest and has the reputation for being the most difficult and technical on the circuit. At 2.2km long it consists of many unavoidable features such as rock gardens, drop-offs and gap jumps.

Finn, who has been racing since 2018, finished strongly and is showing his potential in the discipline with another year left to go in the category.

READ MORE: Fury as vandals put lives at risk - again - on Helensburgh mountain bike trails

Meanwhile, Luke Van Impe, from Kilcreggan, finished 31st out of 42 riders in the 15-16 boys category on the same day after suffering a bad crash and only being able to complete one timed run in what was his first event.

And another young Burgh mountain biker, 17-year-old Benjamin Hood, finished 17th out of 30 in the 17-18 boys category at Fort William, having came 26th out of 29 racers in the previous round at Innerleithen.

Finally, Lee Gibson, from Helensburgh, finished 10th out of 16 competitors at Fort William in the 40+ men’s event.

Finn, Benjamin and Lee will all be competing at the last event in Glenshee next weekend, October 3.

Earlier this month the Advertiser told how vandals had once again destroyed a popular mountain bike trail near Helensburgh, potentially risking the lives of the young riders who regularly use the routes.

Jackie Hood, of the Helensburgh Mountain Bike Meet Up group, said: “They all train up the hill behind Helensburgh in the Highlandman’s Woods particularly on a trail called Blood, Sweat and Beers which was sadly destroyed last week by vandals.

“Hopefully they will be able to get it rebuilt to give them time to practice before the next event.”