R4 BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series: Bridgnorth CC ‘Five Chimneys’, Hughley Hill Climb

Just half a second was the winning margin in Round 4 of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series as Bridgnorth CC promoted their ‘Five Chimneys’, Hughley climb on one of the oldest extant courses in Shropshire; held under the constant threat of, but thankfully absent thunder and lightning. Ludlow Brewery RT rider Ed Copeland once again foiled Tomos Hales for the win in only his second appearance of the Series as he crested the line of the 0.9 mile course in 3 minutes 39 seconds exactly.

This was Copeland’s first experience of the climb, but he coped with the ever-steeper gradient best. Its average of 8% proves deceptive as the final 150 metres provides a stiffer test to the finish line, with Copeland reasonably happy with his pacing on unfamiliar territory: “Once again, my first time racing up this climb, which gets gradually steeper the further you go. With a damp road and a storm brewing in the background it made for a great atmosphere. I thought I paced the climb well, leaving something for the end but maybe in hindsight I left too much, it’s hard to say. I think I had luck on my side to get the win, especially by such a small margin. Very well done to Tomos, who once again pushed me and kept me honest; it’s a great battle we are having; and thanks to Bridgnorth CC who put on a great event on a great course”.

2022 BBR Champion Hales has had to be content with the Silver medal in the last two years, and with every point counting in this normally tight best 6 from 11 event contest will have to dig deep into his reserves. Like Copeland, he has so far only been available for two rounds; both straight head-to-head shootouts; and being very familiar with the climb in training looked favourite on paper from the entrants pre-race. Hales was able to pick out the best route to avoid potholes – but those slight deviations from rougher areas of tarmac may have cost him as he crossed the line in 3:39.5 to add another 18 points to his tally. Whilst disappointed, he was full of praise for Copeland, stating: “A stormy day for the Five Chimneys hill climb. I’ve got a good tactic for this climb now, and know which line to take through the battered road. I was gutted to miss out by ½ a second; however Ed did a great ride on his first attempt on the climb; thanks for Tim and the Bridgnorth CC team for organising”.

The level of Tom Herbert’s improvement over his 2025 effort was significant, knocking 23.3 seconds off and registering a new personal best for the climb in the process to take the honours for the promoting club. However, this hill can see riders ‘blow up’ if they treat the lower slopes with a lack of reverence and go off too hard; or, as in Herbert’s case, have to cling on and punch through the pain barrier: “As is often the case, I went far too hard at the start on ‘Chimneys 1 and 2’, so by ‘Chimney 3’, the effort was really hurting! I did manage to keep the effort going somewhat for a new PB of 3:47:0 – just; which I was happy with. Credit to Ed and Tomos though, who put nine seconds into me on their runs. Another great event hosted by our club, ably organised and ran by Tim Beardmore and Gary Hodkinson – thanks chaps”.

In the BBR Veterans Series leader Stuart Proctor extended his lead to 20 points over Neil Coles and Tim Mayo in joint second after a solid winning time of 4:25.6; this time beating Paul Bailey who he tied with in Round 1 by 8.6 seconds. Hill Climbs usually seem to take place in cooler weather, but the significant humidity and unexpected traffic on a normally quiet lane added extra factors to battle against, as Proctor explained: “A very different evening greeted us for Bridgnorth’s Five Chimneys climb. The whole event felt incredible close and humid, and there was an ever present threat of thunder and rain; and it was surprisingly busy course for traffic on the evening for some reason! I wasn’t looking forward to it, but set off and actually felt good; and given the oppressive conditions I was chuffed to take 1st Veteran; and to get really close to my previous personal best by around eight seconds. Organised brilliantly by Tim and Bridgnorth CC, thanks to all”!

A first-timer at the format took the win in the BBR Female Series as Bridgnorth CC’s Lauren Turley surprised herself with a solid win of 56.1 seconds despite both a steep climb and a steep learning curve of how to manage the format. Turley came back down the climb to loan her shoes to 12 year old Isla Furniss, who had forgotten to bring hers to the race, with Turley’s kind act seeing the youngster finish as runner-up in the Females with 6:27.0: “Another first experience for me: a hill climb. I’m obviously chuffed to come first, but I’ve learnt I need to warm up closer to the start, actually get out of the saddle to climb and not spend all day on my feet at work if I want my legs to wake up! A great atmosphere; and I’m definitely going to have a crack at another one. My shoes did the climb twice; with me and then with Isla, who had forgotten hers”!

Furniss also took third in the BBR Junior category, but fortunes were reversed from Round 3 as Bryn Nelson beat Monty Kynaston by 27.9 seconds to close the gap to leader Flo Parkinson to eight points. This was clearly a climb more suited to the 12 year old Nelson, who is already anticipating future events: “I was shocked to have won as there were some riders there who had beaten me in the other events. It was the hardest one yet, and I was worried as this was the first event where we weren’t held at the start and I was having trouble clipping in. I’m looking forward to the next events, especially the Ludlow one as I live near the bottom of the hill”.

Full:

Veterans on Actual:

Females:

Juniors:

Cumulative standings after four rounds

Overall:

Veterans on Actual:

Females:

Juniors: