Hefin O'Hare and Craif McLean battle it out in the roller race

Scottish Olympic and Commonwealth cycling medalist, Craig McLean, and Scotland 7s internationalist, Hefin O’Hare, competed in a lung-busting test of speed and fitness in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket today.

The ‘cyclists’ battled it out on a set of vintage rollers connected to a huge dial over a simulated 500m distance at speeds in excess of 50mph to test the mettle of the Scotsmen ahead of their respective events in the last weekend of May.

Saturday 30 May will see day one of the final leg of the IRB World Sevens Series, the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival, kick-off at Murrayfield at 9am and run to 7pm when supporters are encouraged to race over to Edinburgh’s Grassmarket to catch the inaugural Edinburgh Nocturne night race that runs through the city’s old town at 8.30pm.

O’Hare said: “Both events offer supporters the best in fast paced sporting action with day one of the 16-team international rugby sevens tournament providing 24 elite matches including the likes of southern-hemisphere giants New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Fiji who’ll run out against the best in northern-hemisphere rugby; Scotland, England, Wales, France and many more.

“The Edinburgh Nocturne sounds like a fantastic race through the city, all 16 sevens teams stay in the Apex International Hotel which is right on the Grassmarket so I’m sure there’ll be a few players out to watch.”

Scotland open their Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s account against Wellington series winners England at 12pm before they take on Kenya and Canada.

Currently placed second in the IRB World 7s series, England provide a mouth-watering start to the series finale at the home of Scottish Rugby before the Scots take on 7s World Cup semi-finalists and Adelaide cup finalists, Kenya, who currently lie sixth in the series and boast the series top try scorer, Collins Injera, who has notched 30 touch-downs in six tournaments.

Olympic silver and Commonwealth gold medalist, MacLean, said: “The Edinburgh Nocturne and Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s will combine to great effect for an action packed sporting weekend – I’d encourage everyone in the city to go along and cheer on Scotland as they take on the best in the world in each event.

“The Edinburgh Nocturne will take place around an amazing 1.2km circuit through the city’s Grassmarket and guarantees some extreme racing in the heart of Edinburgh.

“The event climax, the Elite Criterium, will feature some of the UK's best pro cyclists who will tear off up Victoria Street onto and along George IV Bridge and take the sharp turn for a fast descent back down into the Grassmarket – I can’t imagine a better setting for two world class events.”

Supporters are encouraged to take advantage of the ADVANCE purchase ticket offer which includes a £35 family ticket offer for two adults and two children (£15 saving per day!)

The Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival is the eighth and final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. It will be held at Murrayfield on 30 and 31 May 2009.
Tickets for each day of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival - priced at £15 for adults, £10 for students and senior citizens and £5 for under 18s – are available to by logging onto www.scottishrugbytickets.com by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0871 200 1511 (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday) or in person from the Murrayfield Ticket Centre, Roseburn Street, Edinburgh (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).
Rugby Sevens will be one of the showpiece events of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
 
The Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s is just one of four major events happening at Murrayfield, the home of Scottish Rugby, in May
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May: Rugby League’s Magic Weekend
Sunday 10 May: Scottish Hydro Electric Cup Finals Day
Saturday 23 May: The Heineken Cup Final
Saturday 30 and Sunday 31: Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival

Scottish Rugby has worked extensively with event partners Event Scotland, Visit Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council, to fully promote the world-class events coming to Murrayfield to ensure that everybody attending is fully aware of what Edinburgh as a city has to offer both the resident and the visitor.

Event Scotland - www.eventscotland.org
EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.

Visit Scotland – www.visitscotland.com
VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
The organisation has three key roles:
1. To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
2. To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
3. To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations

City of Edinburgh Council - www.edinburgh.gov.uk
A capital like no other
450,000 people. One city. Countless opportunities.
• Edinburgh is known across the world as Scotland’s festival capital, business capital, and culture capital. The city is home to the Scottish Parliament and some of the most iconic landmarks on the planet. Nearly half a million people call the city home, and we serve each and every one of them, making sure the city is a great place to live, work and enjoy.
• Edinburgh is a unique city, a vibrant city, a growing city, an evolving city. It’s a city that’s at the heart of Europe and the heart of a nation.