A superb Rhino Velo 1-2-3 clearly showed the passion for the new Coaching Revolutions Hill Climb Series with 22 riders braving teaming rain to tackle the fearsome Mount Road climb in Round 3 promoted by Oswestry Paragon CC. Coming out on top of the pile was Kirk Vickers, who paid for his efforts with 15 minutes of searing stitch post race. Vickers pushed himself beyond the limit on the final half mile of this 1.65 mile climb, which ramps up significantly towards the finish. Pain was etched on Vickers’ face as he gasped for air approaching the top, throwing himself across the line to win in 6 minutes 9.60 seconds.
Once he got his breath back an exhausted Vickers commented: “It was very brutal, obviously very wet but the same for everyone. The last bit was very hard, the finish looks closer than it is but I just had to keep digging in. Very pleased”.
Vickers efforts were worthwhile as he finally opened the narrowest of two point gaps to Matt Garthwaite to head the Series thanks to Garthwaite finishing just under seven seconds back in 6:16.48, pushing another team mate Matt Davies into third in 6:33.23. Garthwaite was clearly focussed on the job at hand with the pair going head-to-head in all three rounds so far as his comments clearly show: “That was a tough hill. So tough I forgot it was raining until seeing photos afterwards. Kudos to Kirk, and pleased with a Rhino Velo 1-2-3“.
In the Junior competition Devon Round nearly split the Rhino Velo dominance after taking fourth spot overall in just over three seconds behind Davies in 6:36.34. Round was rocking and rolling near the top of the hill as he put pressure on the pedals in his quest for the Junior win or better with a fabulous victory of 1:22.50 over Hafren CC’s Sam Holwill. The Mid Shropshire Wheeler extended his Junior Series lead to 12 points having won all three events, with Holwill consolidating the runner-up spot. Round commented: “I felt tired and the power was down, so fourth place and first Junior was a good result for me, especially on such a miserable day“!
But Round wasn’t the only rider to make it three wins from three events with Hafren CC’s Ian Coe again finishing top of the pile in the Veteran’s Series. Coe went head-to-head with Paramount’s Stuart Proctor and took Veteran’s honours in 7:07.51, with Proctor taking the runner-up spot in 7:37.20 less than a second ahead of Oswestry Paragon’s Neil Coles.
Coe now has a comfortable 24 point lead over Ian Coupland; with Mike Holwill, Sam’s father also making it a good day for Hafren CC tying with Proctor for third spot in the Veteran’s standings. Coe stated: “It’s a very difficult climb, the hardest one so far. The bit at the end is worst, but I think the hardest is pacing the first bit to be honest because you can blow up – and I have done“! Coe’s comments referred to the ability to judge effort on the first part of the course, which ramps up in stages with the changes in gradient catching out the unwary on the tough final half mile.
Hafren weren’t finished there either with Rebecca Richardson making it a maximum 60 points from three races in the Ladies Series. This time she was up against some serious competition with Fibrax-Wrexham’s Becky Lewis no stranger to setting Ladies Hill Climb records and taking high finishes in National Hill Climb Championships. In the end Lewis’ challenge proved too strong as she finished in 6:50.61 despite Richardson putting in a great effort of 7:32.06 and taking ninth spot overall having caught Lewis’ team mate Alex Loven near the foot of the final ramp. Richardson commented: “This climb was the hardest yet as it was the longest. My legs didn’t feel very fresh, it was painful. An impressive time for Becky Lewis“.
Result:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Kirk Vickers | Rhino Velo RT | S |
06:09.60 |
20 |
| 2 | Matt Garthwaite | Rhino Velo RT | S |
06:16.48 |
18 |
| 3 | Matt Davies | Rhino Velo RT | S |
06:33.23 |
16 |
| 4 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
06:36.34 |
14 |
| 5 | Chris Roberts | Hafren CC | S |
06:44.09 |
12 |
| 6 | Becky Lewis | Fibrax Wrexham RC | L |
06:50.61 |
|
| 7 | Rob Kerr | Oswestry Paragon CC | S |
07:01.80 |
10 |
| 8 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V |
07:07.51 |
8 |
| 9 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L |
07:32.06 |
6 |
| 10 | Stuart Proctor | Paramount CRT | V |
07:37.20 |
4 |
| 11 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V |
07:38.14 |
2 |
| 12 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V |
07:41.42 |
2 |
| 13 | Andy Maxwell | Nova Raiders | S |
07:42.92 |
2 |
| 14 | Sam Coxon | Unattached | S |
07:47.09 |
|
| 15 | Alex Loven | Fibrax Wrexham RC | S |
07:47.73 |
|
| 16 | Ashley Banks | Hafren CC | S |
07:49.84 |
2 |
| 17 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | J |
07:58.84 |
2 |
| 18 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | V |
08:06.55 |
2 |
| 19 | Darrell Walsh | Oswestry Paragon CC | V |
08:49.84 |
2 |
| 20 | William Jones | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
10:17.38 |
2 |
| 21 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | J |
10:28.59 |
2 |
| 22 | Tim Evans | NewportShropshire CC | V |
10:32.34 |
2 |
Veteran’s Result:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Vets Points |
| 1 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V |
07:07.51 |
20 |
| 2 | Stuart Proctor | Paramount CRT | V |
07:37.20 |
18 |
| 3 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V |
07:38.14 |
16 |
| 4 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | V |
07:41.42 |
14 |
| 5 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | V |
08:06.55 |
12 |
| 6 | Darrell Walsh | Oswestry Paragon CC | V |
08:49.84 |
10 |
| 7 | Tim Evans | NewportShropshire CC | V |
10:32.34 |
8 |
Juniors Result:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
06:36.34 |
20 |
| 2 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | J |
07:58.84 |
18 |
| 3 | William Jones | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
10:17.38 |
16 |
| 4 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | J |
10:28.59 |
14 |
Ladies Result:
| Ladies Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Ladies Points |
| 1 | Becky Lewis | Fibrax Wrexham RC | L |
06:50.61 |
|
| 2 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L |
07:32.06 |
20 |
Cumulative standings after three rounds
Overall Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 5 |
| 1 | Kirk Vickers | Rhino Velo RT | S | 56 |
| 2 | Matt Garthwaite | Rhino Velo RT | S | 54 |
| =3 | Daniel Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 38 |
| =3 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J | 38 |
| 5 | Chris Roberts | Hafren CC | S | 34 |
| 6 | Matt Davies | Rhino Velo RT | S | 32 |
| 7 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V | 24 |
| 8 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L | 14 |
| =9 | Chris Pook | Rhino Velo RT | S | 12 |
| =9 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 12 |
Veteran’s Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | 60 |
| 2 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 36 |
| =3 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | 34 |
| =3 | Stuart Proctor | Paramount CRT | 34 |
| 5 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 28 |
| 6 | Ian Pollard | Nova Raiders | 22 |
| =7 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | 16 |
| =7 | Tim Evans | NewportShropshire CC | 16 |
| =9 | Andy Loveland | Wrekinsport CC | 12 |
| =9 | James Joyce | Hafren CC | 12 |
Juniors Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 60 |
| 2 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | 48 |
| =3 | Matthew Redworth | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 18 |
| =3 | Sam Morris | Revolutions Racing | 18 |
| =5 | James Satoor | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 16 |
| =5 | William Jones | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 16 |
| =7 | Ben Vernon | Wrekinsport CC | 14 |
| =7 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | 14 |
| =7 | Lewis Page | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 14 |
| 10 | Joseph Lycett | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 12 |
Ladies Standings:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | 60 |