Ludlow CC Wigmore Road Hill Climb

The longest hill climb in The Little Sweetpea Gardens/BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series rang the changes as Ludlow CC presented Round 4, their 1.95 mile Wigmore Road climb, which saw Abergavenny RC Junior Will Truelove take a narrow victory by just half a second. Truelove stopped the watch on 7 minutes, 3.7 seconds to push out Sam Morris to runner-up spot in 7:04.2, just capturing that position from Charlie Genner by 0.1 seconds in a race that showed how much this format suits Junior riders. Alternatively known as Whitcliffe Road, this is a shallower climb than some, climbing 560 feet – an average gradient of 5.4%, but it features a couple of steeper ramps in the first mile to test the legs.

Hailing from just across the border in Herefordshire Truelove is well aware of the nature of this climb, with the Series mixing up the challenges facing riders – not that that seemed to faze the youngster who won Round 3 at Oswestry which is a very different character, ramping to 17% in the final half mile. He stated: “The climb is long and shallow; I spent more time in the big ring. Another one I had to pace it. It’s my local climb, I’ve ridden that one a fair few times, it was good to have a good go on that one”.

Taking the maximum 20 points on offer to SCCA affiliated riders in both the Overall and Junior competitions Revolutions Racing’s Henri Bedford found the climb to be to his taste as he moved up to third spot in the Overall standings and second in the Juniors, taking a big chunk out of James Satoor’s lead in both with the Mid Shropshire Wheelers not in competition. Bedford stopped the watch on 7:48.3, with Ludlow CC rider Robbie Disney taking 18 points for Overall SCCA runner-up in 8:17.5 on his own club’s course, with first-time entrant Cameron Pember of Ludlow Brewery RT taking the same position in the Juniors with a 9:45.2 effort. Bedford was pleased with his climb, stating: “I enjoyed doing a longer distance hill climb that suited me, and it showed by me going quicker than last year by 56 seconds. I was surprised and happy to take maximum points in both Junior and Overall – thanks to Ludlow CC for hosting the event”.

There’s a keen sense of competition in the Veteran’s category – but a new entrant got in the mix to stir things up. Steven Prince has entered events in previous years but now signed for Ludlow Brewery CC he scored his first points after missing the first three rounds through injury – frustrating given how much of the season was lost to Covid and given that hill climbs are to his taste. Prince finished in 8:17.6 to see off the attentions of CC Bridgnorth’s Scott Palmer by exactly three seconds, with Palmer remaining in third spot in this Championship but narrowing the gap to the top significantly to just six points in a close battle for the medal positions. Prince seemed relieved to be back on a bike, which given the necessity to push the pedals hard seems miraculous given the nature of his injury and how short a time since he received it, as he explained: “I broke my foot a month before so sadly I missed the first three events, so I’m just grateful to be racing and I’m surprised how well it went as I still need crutches to walk!  Big thanks to Ludlow CC for putting the event on in these testing times; and chapeau to the overall winner

The Veteran’s Series is tight but saw a new leader emerge as Paramount CRT’s Chris Riley took over from team mate Mark Hammond by the narrowest of margins – just two points. Riley was 2019’s Silver medallist in this category, riding all nine rounds, and this year seems determined to enter all eight in this least effected of all County Series thanks to hill climbing being a late season discipline. Riley recorded a fine effort of 8:45.5.

Just one female was in competition, and like the Overall winner had travelled to the other end of the County to try the very different Oswestry climb, with JRC Shutt Ridley’s Gwyneth Parry ending her evening with a fine climb of 10:10.7. She stated: “It was nice to do a longer hill climb – a tough but enjoyable course”.

Full:

Pos’nNameClubCatTimePoints
1Will TrueloveAbergavenny RCJ07:03.7.
2Sam MorrisLoughborough Students CCS07:04.2.
3Charlie GennerHalesowen A&CCJ07:04.3.
4Max GibbonsOrbea RTS07:36.0.
5Henri BedfordRevolutions RacingJ07:48.320
6James HardsUnattachedS08:16.2.
7Robbie DisneyLudlow CCS08:17.518
8Steven PrinceLudlow Brewery RTV08:17.616
9Scott PalmerCC Bridgnorth RWGV08:20.614
10Tomos HalesWrekinsport CCS08:35.212
11Chris RileyParamount CRTV08:45.510
12Steve MintonLudlow Brewery RTV08:46.58
13Richard BaconLHDVV08:50.7.
14Jared ForteLudlow CCS09:03.16
15Rob McGregorParamount CRTS09:09.94
16Neil ColesOswestry Paragon CCV09:10.52
17Cameron Coley-SmithStourbridge CCS09:12.1.
18Simon BrownLudlow Brewery RTV09:12.32
19Paul BaileyCC Bridgnorth RWGV09:18.22
20Cameron PemberLudlow Brewery RTJ09:45.22
21Harvey GriffithsLudlow Brewery RTJ09:53.42
22Gwyneth ParryJRC Shutt RidleyWJ10:10.7.
23Richard DykeLudlow CCV10:31.82
24Harvey MintonLudlow Brewery RTJ11:00.02
.Stuart AustinLudlow CCVDQ.

SCCA:

Pos’nNameClubCatTimePoints
1Henri BedfordRevolutions RacingJ07:48.320
2Robbie DisneyLudlow CCS08:17.518
3Steven PrinceLudlow Brewery RTV08:17.616
4Scott PalmerCC Bridgnorth RWGV08:20.614
5Tomos HalesWrekinsport CCS08:35.212
6Chris RileyParamount CRTV08:45.510
7Steve MintonLudlow Brewery RTV08:46.58
8Jared ForteLudlow CCS09:03.16
9Rob McGregorParamount CRTS09:09.94
10Neil ColesOswestry Paragon CCV09:10.52
11Simon BrownLudlow Brewery RTV09:12.32
12Paul BaileyCC Bridgnorth RWGV09:18.22
13Cameron PemberLudlow Brewery RTJ09:45.22
14Harvey GriffithsLudlow Brewery RTJ09:53.42
15Richard DykeLudlow CCV10:31.82
16Harvey MintonLudlow Brewery RTJ11:00.02
.Stuart AustinLudlow CCVDQ.

Vets on Actual:

Vets Pos’nNameClubCatTimeVets Points
1Steven PrinceLudlow Brewery RTV08:17.620
2Scott PalmerCC Bridgnorth RWGV08:20.618
3Chris RileyParamount CRTV08:45.516
4Steve MintonLudlow Brewery RTV08:46.514
5Richard BaconLHDVV08:50.7.
6Neil ColesOswestry Paragon CCV09:10.512
7Simon BrownLudlow Brewery RTV09:12.310
8Paul BaileyCC Bridgnorth RWGV09:18.28
9Richard DykeLudlow CCV10:31.86
.Stuart AustinLudlow CCVDQ.

Juniors:

Junior Pos’nNameClubCatTimePoints
1Will TrueloveAbergavenny RCJ07:03.7.
2Charlie GennerHalesowen A&CCJ07:04.3.
3Henri BedfordRevolutions RacingJ07:48.320
4Cameron PemberLudlow Brewery RTJ09:45.218
5Harvey GriffithsLudlow Brewery RTJ09:53.416
6Gwyneth ParryJRC Shutt RidleyWJ10:10.7.
7Harvey MintonLudlow Brewery RTJ11:00.014

Women:

Women’s Pos’nNameClubCatTimeWomen’s Points
1Gwyneth ParryJRC Shutt RidleyWJ10:10.7.

Cumulative standings after four rounds

Overall Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 46
2 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 44
3 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 42
4 Liam Holohan Holohan Coaching RT S 40
5 Mark Hammond Paramount CRT V 36
=6 Robbie Disney Ludlow CC S 32
=6 Scott Palmer CC Bridgnorth RWG V 32
=8 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 20
=8 Dave Griffiths Clee Cycles V 20
=8 Phil Roberts Wrekinsport CC S 20

Veterans Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 60
2 Mark Hammond Paramount CRT V 58
3 Scott Palmer CC Bridgnorth RWG V 54
=4 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 40
=4 Paul Bailey CC Bridgnorth RWG V 40
=6 Dave Griffiths Clee Cycles V 20
=6 Steven Prince Ludlow Brewery RT V 20
8 Simon Romei Paramount CRT V 18
9 Steve Minton Ludlow Brewery RT V 14
=10 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V 12
=10 John Bradley Nova Raiders V 12
=10 Neil Wilson Paramount CRT V 12

Junior Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 58
2 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 54
3 Jack Inglis Wrekinsport CC J 34
4 Tom Hyde Newport Shropshire CC J 28
=5 Jack Young Oswestry Paragon CC J 20
=5 Will Hyde Newport Shropshire CC J 20
7 Cameron Pember Ludlow Brewery RT J 18
8 Harvey Griffiths Ludlow Brewery RT J 16
9 Harvey Minton Ludlow Brewery RT J 14
=10 Ethan Campbell Newport Shropshire CC J 12
=10 Noah Killeen Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 12

Women’s standings:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Bethan Till Wrekinsport CC W 40
2 Victoria Doran Wrekinsport CC WV 18