'It feels almost like a dream, it's what I've always wanted' - Eilidh Shaw on her journey from the National Road Series to the cusp of the WorldTour

Eilidh Shaw is on her way to the top of cycling aged just 19. In 2024, her first full year as an elite cyclist, she became the first woman to win both the National Road Series and National Circuit Series – making her the clearcut choice for Cycling Weekly’s domestic rider of the year.

The Scot now moves to the UAE Development Team, putting her on the ladder to the full UAE Team ADQ Women’s WorldTour squad. “It feels almost like a dream, it’s what I’ve always wanted,” Shaw explained by video call from her home just outside Glasgow. “It’s what I’ve always worked for since I started out racing, and now I’m super excited to get on with it.”

How did the move to UAE come about? “They reached out to me through social media near the beginning of the year, and then they sort of kept tabs on me through the season,” she tells Cycling Weekly from her home in Airdrie, Scotland. “It wasn’t until maybe June or July when I got in touch with the team’s manager, and then things progressed from there.”

The team’s interest may have been piqued by Shaw’s second place at the Women’s CiCLE Classic in March, a race she enjoys for its brutal nature. It was a sign of things to come: she followed up with 15th at the Antwerp Port Epic, a UCI 1.1 race, then 11th overall, including three top-fives, at the Czech Tour de Feminin, a 2.2 event.

“I guess my first podium in a UCI race at the Czech Tour was the highlight,” she explained. “I think that really got me noticed by UAE this year. My favourite race, though, was the Antwerp Port Epic, which is a bit like Paris-Roubaix, with 60km of cobbles in a 140km race. It was just absolutely crazy.”

Her enjoyment of Antwerp and the cobbles may betray the kind of rider Shaw wants to be, though it’s far too early to categorise her. “I enjoy Classics riding, but I don’t think I’ve had enough experience in the longer hilly races to know if I’d be good at that.”

Her dream is to ride the Tour of Flanders. “I’ve done the sportive before with my dad,” she explained. “We used to go every year and watch the race, then do the sportive. To compete in the race would be the dream. It’s brutal, especially when it’s wet; the climbs get so technical, but I love that, it would be amazing to ride.”

Leading light

In mid-April, she finished second behind Cat Ferguson, our rider of the year, at the East Cleveland Classic to move into the leader’s jersey in the National Road Series. She also won the Guilford and Dudley Grands Prix, before securing top-fives in the Sheffield, Fort Vale Colne, Beverley and Ryedale GPs, as well as a top-10 in Lancaster. All of this contributed to her winning the National Road Series and the National Circuit Series.

Her British highlight was that second place at the CiCle Classic, which proved that she had the form to go onto better things. “I think this year has shown that bigger teams are looking over here, and it’s getting better,” Shaw said. “You still have to go and prove yourself in Europe, but they definitely have an eye on the domestic scene too.”

Her many successes this year are a stark improvement on her difficult 2023, which saw Shaw spend a long time off the bike with iliac artery endofibrosis, a condition not uncommon among elite riders but with which she was diagnosed unusually young. “I was finding myself unable to finish junior races,” she explained.

“We went to see a specialist in Bristol, did some scans, and it turned out I had [iliac artery endofibrosis]. It took a while to decide to have surgery, because it’s quite a big deal. But I wouldn’t have gotten to this level if I hadn’t – afterwards I felt like a new rider.”

Her domestic squad, Alba Development Road Team, has been “like a family”, Shaw explained. She has been guided by the team’s DS, Scottish former WorldTour rider Anna Shackley, who was forced to retire aged 23 due to a heart condition. “[Anna] has been in our ears throughout races this year,” Shaw said. “She has so much experience, and she’s very relatable too, because she’s been there before. It has been brilliant.”

Armed with everything she has learned on the UK scene, and from Shackley, Shaw is ready to step up. The WorldTour beckons, and who knows, maybe her Tour of Flanders dream will come true sooner than she dared imagine.