R2 BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series: Propel CC Swayney Cliff, Coalport Hill Climb

First and second were split by just a single second in Round 2 of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series as Jack Young took his first ever win in the Series at Coalport, as Propel CC promoted their climb of Swayney Cliff. The Dave Scott Coaching rider finished just outside the medal positions in 2025, but looks determined to go better this year after tacking the testing half mile climb heading towards Broseley that touches 17% in the middle section. He stopped the watch on 2 minutes 22 seconds to just pip Market Drayton CC rider Raitis Rorbahs into second spot.    

Young was caught unawares by the win, which knocked a single second off his personal best of 2:23 from 2021 – a race where he finished 7^th, commenting: “I was shocked that I did well in it because I didn’t think the short ones suited me that much; but I really enjoyed it and knocked a bit of time off my PB which I was happy with, that was the main goal for that one. It came as a surprise”. Young took over the BBR Opticians Series lead as a result of this effort.

Rorbahs comes from an ultra-running background, winning the 2025 Yr Wyddfa, Snowdon 50 ultra-marathon in 9:43:24, so short and explosive races are at the opposite end of the scale from his usual preference. However, with a 2:23 time he shows that the benefits of conditioning provided by sport; and being able to deal with pain are transferable, stating: “I’m really enjoying it, especially as this was only my second hill climb. I’m starting to realise that it’s not simply about going all-out from start to finish, there’s actually quite a bit of strategy involved in managing your power and distributing the effort across the different sections of the climb. I’m learning more with every event, and I really enjoyed the experience. Obviously, I’m very happy with finishing second as well”!

There was a close battle for third spot with two Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ club mates battling for honours as Matthew Barrett just managed to shade out BBR Veterans winner Dave Saunders by four seconds. Barrett crossed the finish line in 2:32, with the day’s 1-2-3 helping themselves to the same positions in the overall standings on the strength of their rides. Hill climbers can spend eye watering amounts on the lightest equipment in this discipline to gain competitive advantage, but that seemed not to be Barrett’s methodology, as he coped with the deceptive variables of this climb well: “It was a short, sharp climb with some tricky gradients. I paced the start at around 360/370 watts, and then went as hard as I could after the hairpin. A great event by a small club! The bike I was riding is part of a budget build challenge myself and two friends are doing, keeping under £1000”.

Saunders surprised the Round 1 Veterans winner Stuart Proctor, with his 2:36 taking the Veterans win by just two seconds. Proctor quadrupled his Veterans Series lead to eight points however, with Propel’s Tim Mayo closest chaser.

Flo Parkinson rose to the head of the BBR Junior Standings – and promptly celebrated with a post-race soda in The Woodbridge Inn adjacent to the start following her first attempt at this climb. The 13 year old Mid Shropshire Wheeler took Junior Bronze in 2025, and is clearly looking to go better after her 4:43 effort. She had clearly scoped out the climb beforehand as she coped with it like a duck to water: “The Swayney Cliff event presented perfect racing conditions on a lovely sunny afternoon by the River Severn. From the start, I was able to get into a nice rhythm and maintain it for about three-quarters of the climb before reaching the hairpin corner, where I knew I had paced it just right. This meant I could push a bit harder with added confidence, as I knew the gradient eased off for the last 50 metres or so. I was so pleased to finish as the fastest Junior and get a few more points in the bank ahead of the next round”.

Parkinson finished third in the BBR Female standing too to rise to second in the standings behind reigning Champion Claire Blackwell-Smyth, who took the runner-up spot on the day in 4:10. But there was no stopping Paramount’s Rebecca Pugh, who scorched up the climb in 3:57 on her first appearance in 2026. She stated: “A great event well executed by the Propel team. As my first race of the season the nerves got the best of me and I felt I’d gone out far too hot – so it was a case of clinging on and just trying my hardest to keep up the power until the end. I was really pleased with the result”.

Full:

Veterans on Actual:

Females:

Juniors:

Cumulative standings after two rounds

Overall:

Veterans on Actual:

Females:

Juniors: