R10 BBR Hill Climb Series: Newport Shropshire CC Station Road, Ironbridge climb

Almost exactly two hours after crossing the finish line in the final Friction Hydraulics event at Prees, Tomos Hales was at it again in the penultimate Round 10 of the BBR Hill Climb Series at Ironbridge after a dash south to strengthen his position on an exhausting morning – and took the win in the Newport Shropshire CC climb of Station Road. Hales is nothing if not an all-rounder, and put in a strong performance of 3 minutes 43 seconds on the tough ¾ mile climb on a wet and slippery road. Off number 9, he made signing on with just 10 minutes to spare to the event start – not ideal preparation when there is little time for a warm up or to scope out the hill. Hales explained his determination to maximise his points haul going into the final event – and how trying to pack a little too much into his morning made him feel: “I thought I would try keep the competition alive by racing the Newport hill climb with it being so close after the Battlefield 25 mile time trial. I cut it fine with 10 minutes left to the start time. Rain and the start didn’t help, and I was questioning my life choices during the hill climb – thanks for Newport for hosting as it was a well organised event”.

Hales’ nearest challenge came from Paramount’s Rob McGregor, making that same journey for a double-header morning but with the luxury of rather more time after an early start. This was McGregor’s highest placing in a hill climb, and he took that second place by a single second in 4:31. McGregor had slightly more experience of this phenomenon however, having done almost the same trip from the VTTA 25 to the Propel CC climb in Coalport exactly a week earlier, albeit with a rather more relaxed gap. He stated: “Another time trial and hill climb double header for me. I was delighted with second place and my highest hill climb podium finish – thanks to Newport Shropshire CC for organising”.

McGregor took that place after Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Andrew Wakefield found grip tough in the early stages of the race, which seems to have been the difference to his 4:32 finish, seven seconds ahead of Newport’s Joe Marsh, making his first appearance. Wakefield consolidated his sixth spot in the Overall standings on a morning where no further medals were won, leaving eight of the 12 available to be decided in the final round. This was a solid performance from a rider encountering many of the hills for the first time, as he commented: “My first year competing in the BBR Hill Climb Series and I have really enjoyed it so far. Bridge Bank was no exception, many thanks to Newport Shropshire CC for organising another great course. The wet conditions certainly added to the challenge, and made the early steep slopes particularly slippery. I gave it my all to the finish, but unfortunately wasn’t quite enough to take second”.

In the Veterans competition Oswestry Paragon’s Neil Coles took the win and lifted himself into the Veterans Bronze medal position with a fine 4:58 on one of his favourite climbs – and thankfully an incident on the initial acute bend that thankfully didn’t spoil his ride as he explained: “This is a good climb that suits me. I made a good clip in this time but was nearly stopped by a careless motorist on the first corner loosing time, so I was surprised to get the Veterans win – many thanks to Newport CC for a great event”.

The Female and Junior winner were the same as Newport’s Fay Jackson took the 20 points on offer in both competitions with a solid 5:24 in only her second ever hill climb, improving tremendously on her 2023 effort of 6:07. She commented: “This is my second hill climb so I was very pleased with my performance and to be recognised as the Female and Junior winner. It was a great atmosphere despite the rain – thank you to Newport Shropshire CC for hosting the event”.

Full:

Veterans:

Females:

Juniors:

Cumulative standings after ten rounds:

Overall:

Veterans:

Females:

Juniors: