Hill climbs
The 2008 VC Walcot hill climb event: Forefield Rise & Shaft Road
For 2008 the Hill Climb moved from St Catherine's to embrace the city centre. Once again we all gathered at Kindling in anticipation and a pre-event turbo boost. There was a lot to live up to for this year's event after the enjoyable autumn day we had last year. Check the pictures in the gallery to remind yourself of how nice it was. Unfortunately Tim couldn't return to defend his title, apparently he got a better offer; he had to take pictures of large hairy men in rugby kit. Moving on, 16 riders took to the start which was an increase of 3 from last year and 1 more than our time trial season opener way back in March. I have no idea how many most clubs get for their own events but 16 is pretty good for a club of our size so well done. This year's format was a traditional hill climb preceded by what I would call as timekeeper a 'sprint hill' but those who competed may have other names for it. 30-40 seconds of pain (unless you're Pete) and it was all over what could be easier? It kept the time gaps small and meant that all riders
were still in with a shot as we moved to Shaft Road. Pete was clearly in the lead with a remarkable 26-08secs but the chasing pack weren't far behind with 1km of tough climbing to follow.
After a leisurely roll up Ralph Allen, we reached the finish line at the top of Shaft Road. It's a relatively unused hill on club runs as we generally take an easier option if coming back to Bath from the south. Pete set off first clocking a time of 2-38-02. Added to his previous time he was going to difficult to beat. The main contenders; Graham, James, Tavis, James L and Rick all crested the hill, pushing hard all the way to the line, but couldn't get close to Pete's time, with only Tavis going sub 3 minutes. Not that Pete would've noticed as he was spread-eagled from exhaustion on the tarmac. Pete had claimed his 2nd VC Walcot title after taking the Sprint trophy in the GP de Somerset.
We cruised back to Kindling in Chelsea Road for our now standard cake, coffee and banter mix. The other podium places went to Tavis and Graham respectively followed by a number of riders around the 4 minute mark. The 2nd edition of our hill climb had been a success. All eyes will now be fixed on the first TTs of 2009 and our own TT series. Thanks for your support at all of our events in 2008, it's been a great year for the club.
Laurie Chalk
Check out your times in the results...
The 2007 inaugural VC Walcot hill climb event
The full results are now up.
Laurie gives us a roundup of the day's events
Rider vs. Hill......
In the very picturesque and autumnal St Catherine's VC Walcot held it's inaugural hill climb event. After some early road sweeping and white line painting on Saturday morning the course was ready for action on Sunday. A pre event power-up was enjoyed at Kindling Coffee followed by a gentle procession out through Bathampton and Batheaston to the bottom of the climb. Whilst some competitors took the opportunity to pre-ride the course the time keepers synchronized watches and prepared for the start at 10:25am. Every single rider put everything they had into their first run but it was Tim Holsgrove who was quickest. He dominated both runs being the only rider to go under 3 minutes and in doing so setting VC Walcot's first club record. His first run of 2mins 48secs was 20 seconds quicker than anybody else, beating the main pack of riders by almost a minute. A great performance and worthy of the taking the inaugural Club Hill Climb title. Completing the podium were James Ford and top (and only) junior Charles Coleman at 41 and 44 seconds respectively overall. James is a recent addition to VC Walcot who has been blazing a trail at some of the more local hill climbs and TT events. It was no surprise to see Charles blasting his way up the hill, those of you who were out on the recent club ride to Cheddar will know what I mean. And after a full week of altitude training in Pyrenees Will Longworth was a very respectable 4th, the only other rider to get within a minute of Tim. Post event coffee and cake were enjoyed back at Kindling and our efforts on the hill were rewarded with some earlier afternoon sunshine along with a fair amount of banter.
Laurie Chalk
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