Friction Hydraulics Series Round 1: Wrekinsport CC Chris Edwards Hilly 17

The Overall and Female course records were smashed in the opening round of the 2026 Friction Hydraulics Series, with Kirk Vickers knocking 41 seconds off Thomas Bill’s benchmark; and Hayley Wells slicing 1 minute 46 seconds off her own female course record, both set in 2025. And there was further reason to celebrate for organisers Wrekinsport CC in their Chris Edwards Hilly 17 promotion as the entry level leapt 45% – with road bikes making up 62% of the field in the fastest-growing sector of time trialling.

Just three years ago the club was thinking of pulling the plug on this event with entries in the teens; but a change to the new Atcham – Ironbridge bypass course, along with the road bike initiative saw a strong field of 51 making the best of a fine, if slightly chilly early spring day. Featuring an actual hill climb course within it, this race was a natural to attract hill climbing specialists, with current and former Shropshire Champions well represented – as well as the welcome sight of a travelling double National Hill Climb Champion.

Four time BBR Champion Kirk Vickers riding for Holohan Coaching took a solid win to become the first ever rider below 40 minutes, stopping the watch on 39 minutes 26 seconds in his first ever attempt at the course. He had an advantageous draw however, starting one minute behind 2022 BBR Champion Tomos Hales – something that spurred on both riders to greater heights both metaphorically and in actuality as Vickers fought hard to reel Hales in. He stated: “I really enjoyed the undulating course, exactly my kind of effort. It was a chilly day, but the legs felt good. Well done to everyone who rode, it was a great turnout”.

Hales knew he was in for a battle, commenting about the field layout in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but there was little doubt that it meant he was going to strain ever sinew to stave off the challenge and knocking a huge 1:41 off his 2025 effort in the process, finishing runner-up in 40:45. Newly signed for Aerologic, Hales had a plan the make Vickers work for it, and crossed the finish line just 19 seconds later. He commented: “I was keen to improve my time from last year on this new course. The plan was to try to hold him off until at least half way point, and to attack on each climb. I felt really good, but not good enough to hold off Kirk who caught me up the climb to Leighton on the return. Well done to him with an awesome time on a relic of a time trial bike, it just shows you need good legs to win and set a course record! Thanks for Wrekinsport for hosting; and great numbers of entries for the first time trial of the year”.

The privilege of attracting 2014 and 2017 National Hill Climb Champion Dan Evans to Shropshire was a real bonus for the event, as he won the Road Bike category overall in 41 minutes exactly. Marshals at the foot of the Ironbridge bypass reported watching in awe as Evans tackled the climb visibly faster than any other competitor. The question was – why would a National Champion be attracted to travel? Evans explained: “I really enjoyed the course; it was a nice flowing route with the obvious sting in the tail up to the turn. I appreciated the lack of traffic too; it was nice and quiet out on the roads. I’m trying to focus on some road bike time trials this year with one eye on the British Hill Climb up Porlock Toll at the end of October. That’s a real TT type effort, so it’s an area of my riding that I need to concentrate on”.

Taking the Road Bike honours for Shropshire was Dave Scott Coaching’s James Pearce, crossing the line in 42:01 and taking 1:14 out of another Holohan Coaching rider, Chris Pook. Pearce’s sights were set slightly further a field though, as his sole goal was to beat another four-time BBR Champion, the current holder and owner of his team – Dave Scott, in a friendly rivalry. Pearce stated: “The plan was simple – go hard on the way out, go even harder up the climb, and then go hard again on the way back! I finished second overall in the road bike category, which is OK. Clearly I should have pushed harder, so I’ll remember that for next time. But most importantly – I still managed to beat Dave Scott, which is really the only metric that matters!” Scott ended his afternoon on 44:04.

The Female record was shattered by 2024 BBR Female Champion Hayley Wells, also making her second attempt at the course. With a benchmark of 46:16 from 2025 to beat, she did that easily, throwing herself across the finish line in 44:30 for 9^th SCCA overall, a fabulous result. Wells is clearly on form right from the off, but revealed that this course plays to her strengths: “It was great to be back racing on Shropshire roads. Hilly time trials suit me well, so the slog up Buildwas Bank was a welcomed challenge! I felt strong, and paced this rolling course well – great motivation to start the season!”

But things didn’t go as well for Simon Romei, the 2025 event winner as a mistake at the turn cost him time he had worked hard to gain by battling into the modest headwind. With a turn at the top of Jiggers Bank, Romei somehow took the turn a junction early and had to frantically turn around after realising, aided by shouts from the marshals, showing the red mist and narrow focus that can descend during competition. Fortunately for Romei the estimated 15 seconds he lost correcting his course didn’t cost him the Veteran’s win – just – as he kept Pook out by a solitary second, finishing with +1:33 to Pook’s +1:32. Romei expressed a mixture of disbelief and relief when told he had still managed to secure the win, commenting: “I was super happy to have secured first Veteran, what a great, testing course this is. I went out pretty hard knowing it was going to be a tail wind back in. I went super hard up Buildwas Bank, which in turn made me have a lapse in concentration and I took the wrong exit off the island! I really did have to dig deep to get back on track. Also I’d like to say massive thank you to the timekeepers and marshals who did a fantastic job of arranging this event and running a safe race. The cakes were great back at HQ”!

The first use of the new ‘Best Score’ method of gaining Top Club Award points showed graphically the major contribution Road Bike riders, Females – and potentially Juniors – can make to this competition, with Paramount gaining 375 points, ahead of Dave Scott Coaching on 240.   

SCCA:

Veterans:

Females:

Road Bikes:

Top Club Award:

First use of new ‘Best Score’ scoring method