JOE NALLY’S ascent over the past twelve months has been nothing short of remarkable. Earlier this year, at the age of 17, he became the youngest ever winner of the British Senior Points Race Champion – a result that he admits came as a complete shock to him. And then just a couple of months ago, he was invited to join British Cycling’s GB senior academy in Manchester, a place dubbed the ‘medal factory’, such is its success in churning out world and Olympic medallists.

Nally’s rise to prominence means that he goes into today’s Revolution Champions League at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow widely acknowledged as one of Scotland’s brightest young prospects and he admits that with so few chances to race on home soil, the 18 year-old cannot wait for the opportunity.

“I’m really excited about it – this will be my second elite Rev after racing in Manchester last year so to be at home in Glasgow, in front of the home crowd, will be brilliant,” he said. “I don’t do many races at home any more so this is one of the few opportunities to race at a high level in Scotland, which is great. And I think I might get the chance to wear the British Champion’s jersey which is pretty cool - I’ve worn it once this year and the race didn’t go very well so hopefully I can rectify that.”

Despite the high point of becoming British champion, Nally, who hails from Dunfermline, admits that his 2017 has been somewhat up and down.

He admits that many of the targets he set for himself were on the road and he failed to fulfil them, while a bout of illness in the aftermath of claiming the British title seriously dented his motivation. “It’s been quite a strange year – a lot of the targets I set for myself, I didn’t reach but then I achieved quite a few things that I never expected to,” he said.

“I was hoping for an international result on the road it’s never really came which was disappointing but then I wasn’t expected to do as well on the track as I did so it was a bit of a confusing year, but definitely a good one overall. It was really frustrating to get ill because obviously I was in good form, and I was really looking forward to tackling the classics season on the road but by the time I started to feel good again, that part of the season was over.

“AFter that, I lost my motivation a bit and that was tricky because when you lose it it, it’s pretty hard to get it back so it was a bit of a slog. But whenever I had about bad race on the road, I just told myself that I had the track season to look forward to so that’s what kept me going.”

Nally’s move to Manchester at the start of October is an opportunity for the young Scottish rider to be a part of what is one of the most successful training programmes in terms of medal yield in the world. And the teenager is now mixing it daily with world and Olympic champions, something that he admits took a bit of getting used to.

“It’s full on and it’s not easy but it’s been great and I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “Pretty quickly you get used to having these guys around and then every now and again you stop and look at who is walking around and that’s pretty cool.

And there are some really big names who have been a part of this academy. Sometimes I do think well, he started here, I suppose there is no reason that couldn’t be me in a few years. I don’t really feel any pressure from that – not at the moment anyway because I think it’s a little bit early for me to start worrying about that yet.”

Nally’s steadily improving results mean that the expectation being heaped upon his shoulders is increasing exponentially.

Pressure is not something, he admits, that he had traditionally been particularly good at handling but he is optimistic that as he gains experience, he will also become more comfortable being classed as the favourite as he goes into races. “So far, there’s not been too much pressure on me but I think once we start racing again, that will all come,” he said.

“I feel like I’m not great at dealing with pressure, to be honest. A lot of the time, my really good results have come when there is very little expectation and pressure on me. I don’t know if that’s just a coincidence or if it’s down to something else but I guess we will find out in the future.

“This year, more than ever I feel like I’m gaining experience. It’s a whole different ball game now that I’m under-23 as opposed to junior so this year has probably been the biggest I’ve had so far. I feel like I am settling into as time goes by though.”

Nally will be in exalted company at today’s Revolution Champions League. There are a number of World and Olympic medallists on show, including three-time Olympic team pursuit champion Ed Clancy, world champion on the road and the track Lizzie Deignan, Rio 2016 Olympic champion and team pursuit teammate of Scotland’s Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker and world and Olympic champion, Dani Rowe.

Some of Scotland’s best talent will also be on show, with Neah Evans one of the best chances of a Scottish victory, while youngsters Lewis Stewart, Jenny Holl and Rhona Callander will all be in action as they aim to gain further experience in the senior ranks.