Two seconds were all that separated first from second in Round 2 of the Coaching Revolutions Hill Climb Series as riders fought gravity for the second time in 24 hours. Held on the Willomoor Bank climb, the Wrekinsport CC event attracted the hardcore climbers – including course record holder Dan Watts. The SCCA private member knows the climb well, but with a crosswind coming into play missed out on beating his own record of 3 minutes 40 seconds by 5 seconds – but was still pleased to take both the win and to move into the Series lead. Watts commented: “I was pleased with the win against strong opposition. The wind on the open stretch meant the course record would be hard to beat but I had a good go – I’ll try again next year“.
Watts pushed out the rider he tied with the previous evening, Matt Garthwaite, who moved into joint second place in the Series thanks to an excellent 3:47 effort. Garthwaite was clearly giving it his all on the steepest and final part of the climb, and with the many gradient changes difficult to judge got the better of round 1 winner and Rhino Velo team mate Kirk Vickers by nine seconds. Garthwaite however felt the winning margin was becoming all too familiar after the first round stated: “Two seconds off the pace again! The diet must be working – I’m looking forward to eating more than rice cakes come the 16th October! Fair play to Dan“. This reversal of fortune sees Vickers and Garthwaite tied in second just two points behind Watts, with the pair evidently relishing the prospect of inflicting pain on each other in what is already shaping up to be a titanic end-of-season tussle between club mates.
With a glorious late summer’s evening in prospect the event attracted a 26-strong field of all abilities – and all ages ranging from 12 to 76. The inclusive nature of this style of racing, a traditional British way of saluting the coming end of the racing season suits the lightweight – with a good turnout of five Juniors seeing Mid Shropshire Wheeler Devon Round taking his second win in 24 hours. Round put in a strong effort of 4:06, good enough for 6th spot overall with Round’s team mate Matty Redworth and Revolutions Racing’s Sam Morris tying for the runner-up spot on 4:31. A delighted Round commented: “It was a tough hill to pace well, so I’m happy with the Junior win and 6th place“.
But the youngest rider in the field saw himself move into overall runner-up spot behind Round, with 12 year-old Sam Holwill putting in a fine effort of 4:51. Holwill also took the bragging rights home in the car after beating father Mike by two seconds. And it was another Junior who took home the Gold in Wrekinsport’s own Championship, with 17-year old Ben Vernon best-placed of the promoting club’s riders in 14th on 4:36.
At the other end of the age scale the oldest rider in competition was Wrekinsport’s Ron Perks, just beating the 8 minute mark by a second. But the over-40’s Veteran’s event was won by Hafren CC’s Ian Coe, taking a fine 7th spot overall in 4:22 to push out Mid Shropshire Wheeler Ian Coupland by three seconds. Like Round, Coe also doubled up on victories in this Series to head the Veteran’s standings by four points over Coupland. Coe stated: “The newly formed Hill Climb Series is proving to be a very successful addition to the calendar, both very well supported and hugely competitive, though also a very friendly and encouraging atmosphere between competitors. Personally I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying the Series. The weather has been perfect and I’m obviously pleased with my form and another successful race. The standard set by all, but especially the younger competitors has been superb, and it has been great to see Hafren team mates doing so well. Thanks to the organisers“.
Coe’s final comment included team mate Rebecca Richardson, who was the only female in competition, with her light weight seeing her outpace many other riders as she finished in 9th spot overall in an excellent 4:26. Richardson was another rider with a face set to determined as she tackled the steepest part of the climb, and whilst pleased with the win lamented the lack of female competition, commenting: “The Wrekinsport climb went fine, my legs were quite fresh. However I wish there were more Ladies competing“.
Result:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | Daniel Watts | SCCA Private Member | S |
3:45 |
20 |
| 2 | Matt Garthwaite | Rhino Velo RT | S |
3:47 |
18 |
| =3 | Kirk Vickers | Rhino Velo RT | S |
3:56 |
16 |
| =3 | Matt Davies | Rhino Velo RT | S |
3:56 |
16 |
| 5 | Chris Roberts | Hafren CC | S |
4:03 |
12 |
| 6 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
4:06 |
10 |
| 7 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V |
4:22 |
8 |
| 8 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V |
4:25 |
6 |
| 9 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L |
4:28 |
4 |
| =10 | Matthew Redworth | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
4:31 |
2 |
| =10 | Sam Morris | Revolutions Racing | J |
4:31 |
2 |
| =10 | Adam Mumford | Medway Velo | S |
4:31 |
|
| 13 | Nick Long | Nova Raiders | S |
4:33 |
2 |
| 14 | Ben Vernon | Wrekinsport CC | J |
4:36 |
2 |
| 15 | Andy Maxwell | Nova Raiders | S |
4:42 |
2 |
| 16 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | J |
4:51 |
2 |
| 17 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | V |
4:53 |
2 |
| 18 | Olly Greer | Paramount CRT | S |
4:56 |
2 |
| 19 | Ian Pollard | Nova Raiders | V |
4:59 |
2 |
| 20 | Andy Loveland | Wrekinsport CC | V |
5:02 |
2 |
| 21 | John Rushby | Paramount CRT | V |
5:21 |
2 |
| 22 | Ben Thompson | Wrekinsport CC | S |
5:22 |
2 |
| 23 | Vince Evans | Wrekinsport CC | V |
5:44 |
2 |
| 24 | Daniel Smith | Wrekinsport CC | S |
5:59 |
2 |
| 25 | Tim Evans | NewportShropshire CC | V |
6:29 |
2 |
| 26 | Ron Perks | Wrekinsport CC | V |
7:59 |
2 |
Veteran’s Result:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Vets Points |
| 1 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V |
4:22 |
20 |
| 2 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V |
4:25 |
18 |
| 3 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | V |
4:53 |
16 |
| 4 | Ian Pollard | Nova Raiders | V |
4:59 |
14 |
| 5 | Andy Loveland | Wrekinsport CC | V |
5:02 |
12 |
| 6 | John Rushby | Paramount CRT | V |
5:21 |
10 |
| 7 | Vince Evans | Wrekinsport CC | V |
5:44 |
8 |
| 8 | Tim Evans | NewportShropshire CC | V |
6:29 |
6 |
| 9 | Ron Perks | Wrekinsport CC | V |
7:59 |
4 |
Juniors Result:
| Junior Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Junior Points |
| 1 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
4:06 |
20 |
| =2 | Matthew Redworth | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J |
4:31 |
18 |
| =2 | Sam Morris | Revolutions Racing | J |
4:31 |
18 |
| 4 | Ben Vernon | Wrekinsport CC | J |
4:36 |
14 |
| 5 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | J |
4:51 |
12 |
Ladies Result:
| Ladies Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Ladies Points |
| 1 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L |
4:28 |
20 |
Cumulative standings after two rounds
Overall Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 5 |
| 1 | Daniel Watts | SCCA Private Member | S | 38 |
| =2 | Kirk Vickers | Rhino Velo RT | S | 36 |
| =2 | Matt Garthwaite | Rhino Velo RT | S | 36 |
| 4 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J | 24 |
| 5 | Chris Roberts | Hafren CC | S | 22 |
| =6 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | V | 16 |
| =6 | Matt Davies | Rhino Velo RT | S | 16 |
| =8 | Chris Pook | Rhino Velo RT | S | 12 |
| =8 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 12 |
| 10 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | L | 8 |
Veteran’s Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Ian Coe | Hafren CC | 40 |
| 2 | Ian Coupland | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 36 |
| =3 | Ian Pollard | Nova Raiders | 22 |
| =3 | Mike Holwill | Hafren CC | 22 |
| 5 | Stuart Proctor | Paramount CRT | 16 |
| 6 | Bryn Davies | Hafren CC | 14 |
| =7 | Andy Loveland | Wrekinsport CC | 12 |
| =7 | James Joyce | Hafren CC | 12 |
| =9 | John Rushby | Paramount CRT | 10 |
| =9 | Simon Evans | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 10 |
Juniors Standings:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Devon Round | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 40 |
| 2 | Sam Holwill | Hafren CC | 30 |
| =3 | Matthew Redworth | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 18 |
| =3 | Sam Morris | Revolutions Racing | 18 |
| 5 | James Satoor | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 16 |
| =6 | Ben Vernon | Wrekinsport CC | 14 |
| =6 | Lewis Page | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 14 |
| 8 | Joseph Lycett | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | 12 |
Ladies Standings:
| Position | Name | Club | Best 5 |
| 1 | Rebecca Richardson | Hafren CC | 40 |