Gallagher joins Highland Institute

A year after taking mountain biking ‘seriously’ Inverness 14 year old Yukka Gallagher has met the selection criteria for the Highland Institute of Sport.

If the name Gallagher sounds familiar in cycling circles it is because the teenager’s older brother is Kenta, GB team member in the 2009 Junior World Championships in Australia.

He also won last summer’s British under 18s title and in the same competition Yukka pulled off a rare family double by winning the British Juveniles title. Since then she has been part of Great Britain Cycling’s Olympic Talent Team.

This month Yukka joined the Highland Institute of Sport, part of sportscotland’s area institute network which focuses on preparing Scotland’s best athletes to perform on the world stage by providing high performance expertise.

Yukka, who turns 15 next month, used to run competitively for Inverness Harriers before following the two wheel family line.

“I used to find running hurt my knees, which is the main reason I got into cycling,” she said. “It’s a great sport. You are outside in the fresh air, it’s a bit like running but more interesting. Biking has everything; drop offs, hills and it’s much faster, a real adrenalin rush.”

Having an older brother who is already successful, and has been with the institute network for two seasons has its advantages. “Kenta is good on the technical side which helps me a lot,” she said. “And he has been there and he knows what to do, so he can give me tips and advice.”

The long winter has not been kind to Scotland’s mountain bikers. Yukka has been making up for a lack of time spent training outdoors by using her turbo trainer. But having, by her own admission, ‘been coming fifth a lot in national races’ she came second in last weekend’s British Series race in Wales.

The combination of support from the Olympic Talent Team and the Highland Institute of Sport is proving beneficial.

“The Talent Team helps a lot because where I live there are few mountain bikers my age so I have to train alone a lot of the time,” she said.

“It’s good in some ways because I have become more independent, and I’ve become a lot better at getting organised and getting to races and training camps.

“With the Talent Team there are people my age and level. It’s really good fun being with other riders and we push each other to train harder.

“Catriona Walker at the Highland Institute is helping me with my Scottish and British races’ aims and helping me decide which ones are important. Usually I go to a race and see how I get on, I don’t try and aim for a specific place but speaking to her has made me think and it will push me harder.”

This weekend Yukka will travel to Belgium with the Talent Team. This will be her first time racing abroad and she is excited by the prospect. “I want to see how I get on, try my hardest and see where I can get to,” she added.