Former Forres Academy pupil Lauren Bell joins Olympic champion Katie Archibald and Paralympics gold medallists Libby Clegg and Neil Fachie in Scotland's Commonwealth Games cycling team
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FORRES cyclist Lauren Bell will achieve her dream of cycling for Scotland at this summer's Commonwealth Games.
The former Forres Academy pupil, now part of Great Britain's cycling squad based in Manchester, has been named in her country's 12-stromng squad for the Games which take place in Birmingham, with the cycling events being staged in London.
A second ex-Forres Academy pupil, Ellie Stone will also be part of the squad after being selected as a pilot for one of the Scottish para-cyclists.
Bell started her sporting career in athletics before switching to cycling and becoming a double British champion in 2020.
She joins Iona Moir and Lusia Steele in forming Scotland's women's sprint team.
Scotland's squad also includes Olympic and world champion Katie Archibald, Paralympics gold medallist Neil Fachie and Libby Clegg, who also won gold at the Paralympics as a sprinter before switching to cycling.
Four years ago at the Commonwealth Games in Australia, Scotland's cyclists claimed a decent percentage of the team's medals.
Scottish Cycling’s Performance Director David Somerville said: “Our 2018 team set the bar very high, winning 10 medals, four of which were gold, but I have every confidence in the calibre and character of the team we have been able to pick this time around."
Bell won both the kierin and time trial gold medals at the British Championships two years ago, landing her a place in the Team GB excellence programme.
Previously a student at Napier University in Edinburgh, she returned home to Forres in 2020 to train during the Covid-19 lockdown, with the pandemic costing her a place in the European under-23 championships that year.
