An anaesthetist at Ninewells Hospital gave a knockout performance, pedalling his way to second place in the Etape Caledonia at the weekend.
Barry McGuire (44), who turned to cycling relatively late in life, sped round the 81-mile course in three hours 28 minutes. He remained fully conscious in the wake of his success because he wasn’t allowed to drink the celebratory Champagne he was handed.
His wife Gillian Scott is a GP in Perth and he wanted to take the bubbly home to her but he was expected to behave like Lewis Hamilton on the victory podium.
“You have to open it and spray it around,” said Dr McGuire. “It’s obligatory.”
A member of Perth United cycling club, Dr McGuire says while he has always been a keen sportsman, he only started cycling about 10 years ago.
He enjoys the sociability of cycling with his friends, and a boys’ tour of the Pyrenees has become an annual event after the desire to do something different for his 40th birthday prompted the first epic tour.
But while he’s competitive, Dr McGuire says being right up at the front of the field is a new experience for him, one he puts down to his new £4500 bike, getting in to “the right groups” of cyclists on the route and his decision “to go hell for leather.”
He knocked 15 minutes off his previous best time for the Etape on his new lightweight bike.
“The new bike inspired me,” said Dr McGuire. “It all worked for me on the day. It was a one-off and will never happen to me again. But people have been really nice and really enjoyed my success, saying they are so pleased I did it.
“I am not the second best rider in Scotland but I was the second best in the Etape on the day and I am enjoying it. Second place was way beyond my expectations.”
His place, and the minor celebrity status that has given him locally, is making up for missing out on riding in the event last year. Dr McGuire and his wife were entered but their eight-year-old son Rory broke his leg the day before the Etape.
Kinnoull Primary School pupil Rory is a keen cyclist, as is brother Mark (13), who is a member of Perth United like his dad. Sister Jenny (11) is not the least interested in bikes.
Back at Ninewells yesterday, where he has been an anaesthetist for the last 15 years, Dr McGuire was already looking forward to his next outing on his bike.
Sixteen doctors are heading for the Pyrenees next month for the fifth annual boys’ tour to celebrate Dr McGuire’s birthday.