Late starter proving Goldsworthy

Silas Goldsworthy is among Scotland's hopes in track cycling's 4000m individual pursuit. While his was a relatively late arrival on the competitive scene – he only started cycling seriously three years ago at the grand old age of 24 – he is fast cementing his status as a contender.

A former distance runner in his teens, Goldsworthy, who rides for Sandy Wallace Cycles, cut his teeth as a cyclist at university. "I did five or six years of racing but very much as a hobby with minimal training," he said. "It's only been the last few years with some decent coaching that I've seen major progress and moved up a few levels."

In late 2011 Goldsworthy began a more focused approach and within a year his efforts began to pay dividends. It first clicked that he may be in with a decent shot of targeting Glasgow 2014 when he placed seventh in the British 25-mile Time Trial Championships in June last year, the highest finish by a Scottish man since the late great Jason MacIntyre won back in 2007.

A fourth place in the individual pursuit at the 2012 British National Track Championships and ninth in the British National Time Trial Championships, both last September, further fostered that belief. "I started to think: 'Wow, this is real – it's a possibility,'" he said.

Originally from Stranraer, Goldsworthy is a graduate of the Royal Dick Veterinary School in Edinburgh and specialises in working with small animals. "Cats, dogs, rabbits and all the weird and wonderful exotics from guinea pigs to lizards," he smiled.

But last month the 27-year-old made the decision to put his career on hold and leave his job at a Lanarkshire veterinary practice, allowing him to focus his efforts on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games. "I'm still doing a minimal amount of locum work but it allows me to fit that in around my training – rather than the other way about," he said. "The biggest advantage in being able to train full-time is in terms of recovery. The fatigue doesn't build as quickly."

Having bounced back from a self-confessed dip in form through May, recent weeks have seen Goldsworthy steadily build an impressive palmares that includes a fourth place finish in the 2013 British National Team Time Trial Championship and second in the Scottish Cycling National 50-mile Time Trial Championships.

On Saturday, Goldsworthy became equal third-fastest Scottish man in a 10-mile time trial on home soil – joint alongside Mark Atkinson and behind MacIntyre and Graeme Obree – winning the Inverclyde Velo 10 TT at West Ferry, Renfrewshire, in a blistering 19.37mins.

"I'm really happy with that," he said. "I have always classed that trio of riders as the legends of Scottish time trialling. I still have a lot more to do before I can class myself in that company but it's nice to match Mark's time and to be so close to that of Graeme Obree."

Last September he was seven seconds off the Commonwealth Games individual pursuit qualifying standard of 4.30.396. While Goldsworthy has continued to improve since then, he is yet to definitively test by how much that margin has closed.

"By the end of April, my training times were faster than what I did at the British National Track Championships last year," he said. "It's hard to put an exact number on it currently as I'm just coming off the road season and back on to the track. But everything is definitely moving in the right direction. I'm pretty happy with how it's all going."

Given his chosen discipline, there are the inevitable comparisons to MacIntyre, a triple British and multiple Scottish time trial champion, who died after a collision with a van on the A82 in Fort William in 2008. Goldsworthy seems uncomfortable in drawing such parallels, insisting that MacIntyre will always be in a league of his own.

"He was a truly phenomenal cyclist," he said. "I always looked up to Jason, not least for the way he was able to balance family life around being a world class athlete. He was a huge inspiration. Despite all he achieved, he was still such a humble guy. I met him at the 2006 Scottish 25-mile Time Trial Championships and he asked what my goal was. I told him to go under an hour, while he was after the Scottish record.

"In the end, he punctured and had to ride five miles on a flat tyre, but still won that day. Afterwards, though, he was more interested in asking how I'd got on and was delighted that I'd gone under the hour. He should have been raging at his own bad luck but instead was so happy to be sharing in someone else's achievements."

Goldsworthy's training partners include five-time Scottish national road race champion Evan Oliphant, splitting his time between Glasgow and the outdoor velodrome at Meadowbank in Edinburgh. The digits 4.30.396 are seared in his mind, but he's under no illusions of the copious hard work to come.

"The field at the Commonwealth Games next summer will be truly world class," he said. "We could have the likes of Sir Bradley Wiggins there. He's talked about riding in Glasgow and is an Olympic gold medallist in the individual pursuit, team pursuit and time trial. It would certainly be amazing company to compete alongside."