Earlier Today DGWGO were Contacted by Rachael McDougal who got in touch to tell us all about Young Mountain Bike Hopeful Frazer McCubbing, Here is what Racheal Told us –
I am assisting a local young man to secure funding that will allow him to attend and compete in an international mountain bike event, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.
He is called Frazer McCubbing, 17, born in Dumfries and raised in Ae Village. He is currently in full time education at Borders College studying a Diploma in Sport: Mountain Biking. Frazer’s ambition is to have a career in mountain biking and racing whilst giving back to his community. Many young people attend his local bike centre and forest to take part in outdoor activities and mountain biking. Frazer is aware that he is a role model and has the opportunity to develop and promote the sport in the region.
Frazer developed and honed his mountain bike and downhill skills from an early age. He started riding quad bikes with his brother Callum in his Granddads’ garden from the age of 3. Frazer then started to follow his brother up the hill at Ae with his first bike, a ‘hardtail’ Saracen. Being a natural, this quickly developed into Frazer taking part in local mountain bike events where he started to get some good results.
The first major race Frazer entered was the Scottish Downhill Association (SDA) at Dunkeld in 2009 where he competed as a junior aged 13. He came 6th.
The following year he entered the British Championships and came 7th. His first full SDA series season was in 2010 where he finished 6th, 3rd, 1st and 2nd. These results along with other race results meant for the Scottish Championship he came second!
Frazer kept riding and in 2011 he became Juvenile category British Championship winner and Scottish Championship winner.
In short, Frazer is great at racing and he has a bright future ahead. In 2013 he was able to race with the Mondraker team (youth development scheme, riders costs are partially covered). As he has improved his skills and results, this year he will be riding with the Steve Peat Syndicate team and able to enter the UCI World Cup. The World Cup has race venues including South Africa, Australia, Canada, USA and Europe. This is an amazing opportunity for a local person to take part in and such an extraordinary experience. All those entering this type of event must finance themselves or seek funding from other avenues. Frazer’s family have supported and funded him during his racing years and will be funding some of the series (Europe and USA) however, their funds do not allow them to afford travel to South Africa or Australia. As it is Frazer’s first world race series, he thought he would not mind missing the South Africa and Australia races. However, I believe he should attend the Australian race in Cairns as it is too much of an opportunity and experience to miss and by missing the first two races, he may jeopardise his World Cup Series results.
At the moment, the amount we need for the trip is approximately £1500. This includes fuel costs, flight, insurance, bike luggage and food for the duration of the trip. The Cairns race date is 24th – 27th April 2014.
We are applying to various charitable sources for funding including Dumfries and Galloway Sports Council, Holywood trust, Dumfries Lions Club and the Rotary. We have been successful so far by very kindly being donated £150 by the Rotary Club of Dumfries Devorgilla. We are also holding some fund raising events in the area to include the local community and get people out and about in the forest and exercising. This includes a ‘Blue Route Bike Challenge’ on the bike trails at Ae forest, an Australia day (family fun day/BBQ/face painting etc) and exercise classes ‘for all’. The bike challenge is on the weekend of 15th/16th March at Ae forest. Other events to be announced!
