In the “Where Are They Now Wednesday” Series, we look back at past Braveheart Trophy winners to see what they are doing now. Highlighting this week is Katrina Hair.
The first rider to win the Braveheart Cycling Trophy in 2004 was Katrina Hair. Katrina Hair is a Scottish road and track cyclist who has gained recognition for her time-trialling abilities and a series of national titles in the early to mid-2000s. She represented Team Scotland at two Commonwealth Games: Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006, finishing 18th and 9th respectively in the women’s individual time trial.
Racing for Johnstone Wheelers, Hair excelled domestically: she holds four Scottish women’s road race titles and three Scottish women’s 3,000m individual pursuit titles, along with numerous Scottish time-trial wins (10 and 25 miles, including team titles).
Nationally, she reached the British elite podium, securing the silver medal at the 2003 British National Time Trial Championships behind Wendy Houvenaghel. Hair’s 2006 season included a European campaign in Australia (Geelong Tour and World Cup) before her top-10 finish at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Within Scottish cycling circles, she’s just as at home on the road as on the track, which helped raise the standard of women’s racing during a crucial period in Scotland’s cycling history.
She continues competing on the track, recently winning a silver medal at the 2023 Scottish Cycling Senior National Track Championships in the Women’s Team Pursuit.
Now, a few questions to get to know Katrina a bit better:
- How did you get started on the bike? What discipline do you specialise in?
- I got into cycling as George, my now husband but boyfriend at the time, cycled to work and followed racing on the TV. He took me to see a stage of the tour of Spain and I decided it looked good and I wanted to try it. Very exciting and colourful.
- When I raced I did road race, time trial and track pursuit. I got into cycling pretty late (I got my first bike at 25) so I was never entirely comfortable in a bunch.
- What was your first club?
- The Johnstone Wheelers have always been my club. And the mighty Johnstone Jets, who I helped coach for a few years.
- Describe your best racing experience
- My best racing experiences were always local time trials or club time trials. Meeting up with the people I know and trying to beat each other.
- Name something you excel at asisde from cycling
- No Idea of something I excel at! I enjoy playing the violin but am probably pretty bad at it…
- What brand of bike do you ride? How many bikes do you have?
- I have a lot of bikes scattered around the house. My gravel bike is the most used for commuting and I just bought myself a new full suspension GT. But I still have my old road racing bikes TT, pursuit, hard tail, etc.! I don’t like to count..
- In your opinion, who is the most outstanding sportsperson of all time?
- The greatest sportsperson of all time is definitely Chris Hoy.
- Could you describe a crucial moment in your cycling career that shaped you as a cyclist?
- A crucial point in my career was meeting Graeme Herd. Graeme was my coach for years and pretty much guided me in all my training and racing. I would probably not have raced outwith the local area without him pushing me on.
- What advice would you give to younger aspiring cyclists to succeed in cycling?
- Advice…. I am not sure I am qualified to give advice but my main thing was always to enjoy training and racing. If you don’t enjoy it, what’s the point?
- Coffee or tea?
- Tea
- Dogs or Cats?
- I like all animals but have 2 cats.
- Cake or Pies?
- Cakes all the way.
Come and join us on October 18th as we celebrate the inspiring next generation of Braveheart Cycling Fund riders at our memorable Ride and Dinner event. We look forward to sharing this wonderful day with you!
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