JASON MCINTYREChampion cyclist Jason MacIntyre, who died aged 34 on 15 January, 2008, after a road accident near Fort William, was rated as one of Scotland’s best athletes.He had represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and was hoping to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after having his best season to date in 2007.Mr MacIntyre was born on 20 September, 1973, in Lochgilphead on Scotland’s west coast and his family moved north to Fort William when he was 10.After school he began training as a lithographer but took up competitive cycling at 18. He trained himself and soon began to show great promise. At 23 he won the Irish Tour of the North race.After the premature birth of his twin daughters he took three years out of the sport to help his wife care for them. On his return in 2000 he won the Scottish Hill Climb Championship, but began specialising in time trial events after knee surgery forced him to rethink plans to compete in road races at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.Though he finished 15th at the Games, time trial success soon came to him. He was a three-time Scottish Olympic TT Champion, winning the event in 2002, 2005 and 2007. This put him in strong contention for the 2008 Olympics after he beat his nearest rival by more than four seconds in the latest event.His other achievements included becoming the first Scot to win the British 25-Mile Championship – one of the most prestigious competitions in the sport – in 2006 and retained it in 2007. He also broke a long-standing Scottish record in a 10-mile race in July 2007.Despite his success, Mr MacIntyre remained modest about his ambitions. "I feel I can keep improving until the next Commonwealth Games [Delhi, 2010] and I’d like to think I could make the team," he said in December 2007. "I’d like to get a ride in the World Championships [Manchester, 2008] and that would certainly be a starting point to see where I stand."Mr MacIntyre, who was registered as a full-time carer for one of his daughters, was supported in his cycling by the Highland Institute of Sport which provided equipment and transport to events. He had become involved with the Braveheart Cycling Fund which supports young riders.He was well known for his personable nature and love of cycling, posting a message on his official website on 1 January in which he described his return to training for the new season. "Having made it through Christmas and now New Year, albeit over-fed and overweight," he wrote, "I’m looking forward to January and 2008 to see what it brings."Graeme Herd, former Scottish national coach, paid tribute to Mr MacIntyre: "Jason was one of the most talented riders to come out of Scotland in the last decade, if not longer. He achieved an incredible amount of success, in challenging circumstances. It is a tragic waste that he has lost his life at such a young age."
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