R6 Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series: Propel CC Swayney Cliff climb

The second course record in as many events fell to Kirk Vickers in Round 6 of The Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series with the short, sharp climb of Swayney Cliff in Coalport made memorable to riders thanks to fine organisation by Propel CC. Vickers sliced five seconds off Dave Scott’s inaugural record from 2019 as he makes a belated impact on a Series he has made his own. The Holohan Coaching RT rider can still take the 2020 Series in a potentially close run Championship that looks like going down to the wire despite that late start, and he set about making up for lost time with a fabulous effort of 2 minutes 2 seconds.

The 0.52 mile climb of Swayney Cliff has a deceptive average gradient of 5.3% thanks to the flattening finish straight which hides some vicious kicks, particularly just after the start and around the hairpin bend which signals the impending end of the climb, and where a good crowd gathered to watch riders tackle the fiercest slope, which was reflected in Vickers’ post-race comments: “My first time up the climb, a few sharp steep bits and a great atmosphere on the final corner. A well organised event by Propel CC, and a course record is always nice! Thanks all”.

Vickers seems to excel at the shorter, more explosive climbs, but victory was by no means assured thanks to the presence of Aerocoach rider Jonny Morris, the winner of Rounds 1 and 2. In the end it could hardly have been closer, with Morris taking the runner-up spot by a solitary second. Morris put his familiarity with the climb to good use, although this is the first time he has raced it in competition. His post-race comments were tongue-in-cheek: “It was great to have a hill climb on a hill I know well, I made sure I pushed on from the start this time so I was happy with my effort. I left my saddlebag on, and it definitely cost me two seconds! It was great too to have a close run finish with Kirk when he’s going so well! Great organisation from Propel CC, I’m looking forward to that event next year already”.

Morris’ namesake Jack took third spot in 2:13 in his second appearance of the Series, costing Overall Series leader James Satoor two vital points in the scramble for Overall Gold after the pair finished four seconds apart. Satoor stretched his lead at the top of the standings by pushing out Veteran’s Series leader Mark Hammond, who leap-frogged into the Overall Silver medal position just a second off Satoor’s pace in 2:18 as a result of his 5^th place. Morris commented: “A great event with strong competition and I was happy to take third on the day”.

Satoor knows he’s got a battle on his hands for the Overall title, but he sealed the first medal of the Series by taking the Junior victory from Newport Shropshire CC’s Tom Hyde, who finished in 2:45. Satoor was more than pleased with his efforts, stating: “I was really happy to get the Junior win at the Propel CC Hill Climb, which was another short but steep effort! Thanks again to Propel for putting on such a well organised event. I was also really happy to have won the Junior Series; hopefully I will be in contention for the Overall win during the final rounds”.

Hammond meanwhile tightened his lead at the top of the Veteran’s Championship after pushing out CC Bridgnorth’s Scott Palmer who is breathing down his neck in the Veteran’s Silver position by two seconds in another extremely tight race for Gold – a real feature of the 2020 Series as most medals look to go down to the wire. Hammond knew he’d been in a race as both riders tackled Swayney Cliff in anger for the first time, as his post-race comments revealed: “With the Veterans so tight I knew I needed to up my game. I managed to grind out a few more watts on another short steep climb. A great atmosphere and great weather again – well done to Propel CC”.

Hammond has plenty of hill climbing experience, being the 2018 Veteran’s Champion, but an audacious challenge from a first time climber is pushing him to his limits, as Palmer stopped the watch on 2:20 to take a notable scalp in Dan Watts by two seconds. Palmer has clearly relished the format, but this tightly-packed end-of-season programme has its own underlying challenge as he explained: “It is a very tight battle at the moment and it’s making for a great Series. Three climbs in one week took it out of my legs a little for the Propel climb, I was pleased with how I paced the previous two climbs but I just didn’t have enough kick at the end. All the climbs during this Series are new to me as I’m new to the hill climb scene. I’m just enjoying being in the company of some great climbers. I’m really enjoying my first Hill Climb Series, it’s a great battle for top Veteran position at the moment, but the quality and experience definitely shows”.

Full:

SCCA:

Juniors:

Vets:

Cumulative standings after six rounds

Overall Top 10:

Veterans Top 10:

Junior Top 10:

Women’s standings:

There’s an onboard video of Kirk Vickers’ course record run on You Tube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otXl8Ir-O8g