LECTURERS and students from Borders College have hailed the new mountain bike centre at Glentress.

And it is hoped a world champion or two may emerge from the new facilities.

Forestry Commission Scotland cut the tape on their new Peel Tower centre outside Peebles in June.

Since then the College’s BASE Mountain Biking students have used the premises to review race runs from top riders as well as practicing yoga techniques. And as the students go on into the Performance Analysis stage of the course programme, the facilities on offer will be invaluable.

Andy Barlow, coach and partner in Dirt School, told the Peeblesshire News: “It’s already allowing us to break down mountain biking technique in a way that we have previously been unable to do - meaning we can use the space to review the footage taken from the previous sessions, dissect the shapes, co-ordination and reactions of top riders as well as compare the performances with our own students. “The Performance Analysis Unit at the Centre, I’m confident, will have a massive impact on the students’ performance. “ All of the MTB students train regularly on the trails in Innerleithen and Glentress, with excellent coaching provided by Dirt School. The Peel Tower centre is the result of the project led by Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Scottish Cycling, Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and Borders College and is supported by Forestry Commission Scotland. The centre is for athletes, riders, businesses and the community to come together, to learn, develop, grow and help Scottish mountain biking be a world leader in its development.