R11 BBR Hill Climb Series: Mule CC Bwlch y Ddar, Llangedwyn climb

Eight of the 12 available medals were in play in the final round of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series – with a straight head-to-head for the Championship between reigning Champion Dave Scott and 2022 winner Tomos Hales. Scott had home advantage for the Mule CC Bwlch y Ddar, Llangedwyn climb and took BBR Gold by a narrow two point margin after winning the event in 5 minutes 53 seconds, a five second improvement over his 2023 winning time as he was again challenged by Solihull CC’s James Pearce who lost five seconds over his 2023 effort, finishing as Overall runner-up again in 6:08.

This was a last gasp effort from Scott to retain the title, with that time showing the toughness of the 1.26 mile climb, with Scott commenting: “I was very happy to retain my title. It was definitely a close battle, and nice that it came down to the final event with Tomos fighting all the way to the end. We had another good turnout, it’s always a special event on the calendar which I love organising, but I couldn’t do it without the help of Dave Drew, Jon Gorman & Sophie timekeeping. I surprised myself beating my previous best time, I think all the supporters helped – and the good weather”!

For Hales this was his first experience of the climb and he enjoyed his morning out in the sunshine, finishing in 6:33 for third spot on the day and the Silver medal overall. This climb adds the challenge of a changing gradient, and Hales was full of praise for Scott’s win on a climb that does not suit his preference for short and sharp: “My first time doing the Mule hill climb and it didn’t disappoint. There was great support on the steep sections, and it was an overall challenging climb. Well done to Dave with the Overall win and Series win. Also thanks to him for organising the last event of the Series, it was a fitting end to a good season. Thanks for everyone that’s been involved, roll on 2025”.

Although he wasn’t in competition on the day Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Will Witterick did enough to seal the Bronze medal after a solid late season’s climbing. When told about that win he was modest with his comments: “The other two lads are on a completely different level to me, but I’m very happy to have sneaked onto the podium – flying the flag for us mortals”!

In the Veteran’s competition visiting rider Luke Taylor took the win in a superb 7:05, with Mule CC’s Mark Broster taking the honours for the County in 8:40 in his only appearance of the Series in 2024. Broster stated: “Always a great turn out for the Mule hill climb, I come for the complimentary chips! It’s a tough climb; I saved myself for the steeper second half this year and managed to take about a minute off my previous personal best – looking forward to next year”. With Veterans Gold and Silver already settled that left Oswestry Paragon’s Neil Coles to snaffle the final available Bronze.

In the Female Series the Series winner almost didn’t ride, having determined to hang up her wheels after the final 10 mile time trial. However a little persuasion saw Hayley Wells gain her first experience of the Bwlch y Ddar after Silver medallist Claire Blackwell-Smyth gave her the low down. Wells was the only female under 10 minutes, and handsomely so with a fabulous time of 8:40. She explained: “After a bit of persuasion from Claire I decided to race the last hill climb of the season and I’m very glad I did! It was an awesome turnout of riders; thanks to Mule for a fabulous event, and well done to Dave Scott on the Series win”. Unattached rider Megan du Toit took the runner-up spot in 10:16, two seconds ahead of Blackwell-Smyth; whilst the final female medal went to Paramount’s Emma Richards who took the Bronze.

No riders were in competition in the BBR Juniors, but that saw Wrekinsport’s Ben Southgate seal the Series ahead of a dead heat for Silver among Newport Shropshire CC’s Fay Jackson and Mid Shropshire Wheeler’s Jude White. Southgate has had a great season and commented: “I’m happy to take Gold after all the hard work”. White added: “It was very unexpected, so thank you very much for my Silver medal.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do as many as I would have liked this year, hopefully more for next year! I do quite enjoy the challenge of the hill climb, a great Series, and thank you for the opportunity”.

Full:

Females:

Veterans:

Final cumulative standings after eleven rounds

Overall Top 10:

Veterans Top 10:

Female standings:

Junior standings: