HE may have come within less than a minute of setting a new course record in his first ever sportive, but Tom Arnstein is taking it all in his stride.
The Fife-born rider, who more typically can be found whizzing round a velodrome track, finished the 81-mile Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Caledonia in Perthshire on Sunday in 3.28:32 – just 54 seconds outside the time set by pro cyclist Evan Oliphant in 2011.
However, Arnstein, part of Scottish Cycling's junior performance programme, insisted it was not something he had set out to do and seemed taken aback by the fuss.
"It was a complete surprise," said the 18-year-old, who rode the Etape Caledonia alongside his father, Arnie. "I didn't expect to do so well. The aim of a sportive is to have a bit of fun. I'm really pleased with my time, although I would have loved to have beaten Evan."
A business student at the University of Strathclyde, Arnstein began his career as a mountain biker aged 13, before making the switch to track and road cycling. By 2012, he was the British National Junior Men's Kilometre Champion.
He currently rides for Team ASL360 and trains at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow under the tutelage of Graeme Herd, the Scottish Cycling head coach, and will now focus on qualifying for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in his track cycling specialism, the 4km individual pursuit.
However, the teenager hopes to one day carve a professional road racing career. "Further down the line I'd love to move across to Belgium and try to make a career out of the road," he said.
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