R4 Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series: Ludlow CC Wigmore Road climb

Ludlow CC Wigmore Road Hill Climb

The longest hill climb in The Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series rang the changes as Ludlow CC presented Round 4, their 1.95 mile Wigmore Road climb, which saw Abergavenny RC Junior Will Truelove take a narrow victory by just half a second. Truelove stopped the watch on 7 minutes, 3.7 seconds to push out Sam Morris to runner-up spot in 7:04.2, just capturing that position from Charlie Genner by 0.1 seconds in a race that showed how much this format suits Junior riders. Alternatively known as Whitcliffe Road, this is a shallower climb than some, climbing 560 feet – an average gradient of 5.4%, but it features a couple of steeper ramps in the first mile to test the legs.

Hailing from just across the border in Herefordshire Truelove is well aware of the nature of this climb, with the Series mixing up the challenges facing riders – not that that seemed to faze the youngster who won Round 3 at Oswestry which is a very different character, ramping to 17% in the final half mile. He stated: “The climb is long and shallow; I spent more time in the big ring. Another one I had to pace it. It’s my local climb, I’ve ridden that one a fair few times, it was good to have a good go on that one”.

Taking the maximum 20 points on offer to SCCA affiliated riders in both the Overall and Junior competitions Revolutions Racing’s Henri Bedford found the climb to be to his taste as he moved up to third spot in the Overall standings and second in the Juniors, taking a big chunk out of James Satoor’s lead in both with the Mid Shropshire Wheelers not in competition. Bedford stopped the watch on 7:48.3, with Ludlow CC rider Robbie Disney taking 18 points for Overall SCCA runner-up in 8:17.5 on his own club’s course, with first-time entrant Cameron Pember of Ludlow Brewery RT taking the same position in the Juniors with a 9:45.2 effort. Bedford was pleased with his climb, stating: “I enjoyed doing a longer distance hill climb that suited me, and it showed by me going quicker than last year by 56 seconds. I was surprised and happy to take maximum points in both Junior and Overall – thanks to Ludlow CC for hosting the event”.

There’s a keen sense of competition in the Veteran’s category – but a new entrant got in the mix to stir things up. Steven Prince has entered events in previous years but now signed for Ludlow Brewery CC he scored his first points after missing the first three rounds through injury – frustrating given how much of the season was lost to Covid and given that hill climbs are to his taste. Prince finished in 8:17.6 to see off the attentions of CC Bridgnorth’s Scott Palmer by exactly three seconds, with Palmer remaining in third spot in this Championship but narrowing the gap to the top significantly to just six points in a close battle for the medal positions. Prince seemed relieved to be back on a bike, which given the necessity to push the pedals hard seems miraculous given the nature of his injury and how short a time since he received it, as he explained: “I broke my foot a month before so sadly I missed the first three events, so I’m just grateful to be racing and I’m surprised how well it went as I still need crutches to walk!  Big thanks to Ludlow CC for putting the event on in these testing times; and chapeau to the overall winner”

The Veteran’s Series is tight but saw a new leader emerge as Paramount CRT’s Chris Riley took over from team mate Mark Hammond by the narrowest of margins – just two points. Riley was 2019’s Silver medallist in this category, riding all nine rounds, and this year seems determined to enter all eight in this least effected of all County Series thanks to hill climbing being a late season discipline. Riley recorded a fine effort of 8:45.5.

Just one female was in competition, and like the Overall winner had travelled to the other end of the County to try the very different Oswestry climb, with JRC Shutt Ridley’s Gwyneth Parry ending her evening with a fine climb of 10:10.7. She stated: “It was nice to do a longer hill climb – a tough but enjoyable course”.

Full:

SCCA:

Vets on Actual:

Juniors:

Women:

Cumulative standings after four rounds

Overall Top 10:

Veterans Top 10:

Junior Top 10:

Women’s standings: