Unusually for hill climbs the Mount Road climb can induce a sinking feeling amongst riders as there is no escaping the vertiginous sight of the dead straight road to the old racecourse rearing up to 17% for a leg-breaking finale; and at 1.65 miles it is the second longest in the BBR Hill Climb Series. Run by Oswestry Paragon, the event was won by Mule CC’s Dave Scott, taking his third victory in the 2022 Series, with local knowledge a big help as he was the only rider to beat six minutes with a fabulous effort of 5:56, a personal best. Scott made up ground on Series leader Tomos Hales with this ride, narrowing the gap to 34 points and was pleased with his climb, helped by having riders in clear vision to chase. He stated: “The Oswestry climb was a big course personal record for myself despite the wind coming from the side. It helped having a couple of good carrots up the road”.
Hales took the runner-up spot in 6:23, and preferring the explosive effort of the shorter climbs rather than the long grind he had a plan worked out beforehand to limit his losses: “One of the longer climbs, and this one really ramps up at the end. I had a game plan for this one and it worked well. I was a long way off Dave who did an amazing time to go sub-six – thanks for Oswestry for putting on a great event”.
Hales nearly had a shock however as Scott’s team mate and first-time entrant to the 2022 Series, Jed Friskney made it a Mule sandwich, finishing just five seconds behind the Wrekinsport rider in 6:28. Roared on by the spectators lining the steepest part of the climb who outnumbered competitors, Friskney was pleased with his maiden climb, commenting: “First hill climb of the season for me, a surprisingly good effort and helped along by some excellent roadside support. I paced it well, but I’m sure that last bit was steeper than usual”!
Scott wasn’t the only rider using others to help pace their efforts, with Oswestry Paragon’s Neil Coles taking the Veteran’s competition in 7:33 – and moving up to the head of the Veteran’s Series in the process. Coles explained the thinking of starting one minute ahead of 18 year-old team mate Jack Young, with hill climbing particularly suited to lightweight teenagers: “I was very pleased to take the Veterans, especially on home turf and on a hill I’m not found of or practiced. The original plan was to just lead Jack Young out and get some motivation as he passed me”! Young overtaking evidently spurred Coles on as the youngster finished in 6:31 to take fourth spot overall and Coles crossing the line just two seconds behind him.
There was a new entrant to the BBR Women’s Series as another Mule CC rider Liz Breeze took the maximum 20 points on offer in this championship with an 11:04 climb – a personal best. With the climb popular amongst users of the Strava training system she also took set a best on the steepest part, as she explained: “As always a well organized event by Oswestry Paragon. I was keen to support the local event and keep myself motivated by participating in the hill climb. I was happy with a part personal best; and a second personal best on the full climb”.
Full result:
| Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Points |
| 1 | David Scott | Mule CC | S | 5:56 | 20 |
| 2 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 6:23 | 18 |
| 3 | Jed Friskney | Mule CC | S | 6:28 | 16 |
| 4 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | S | 6:31 | 14 |
| 5 | Troy Rimmell | Mule CC | S | 6:52 | 12 |
| 6 | Phil Roberts | Wrekinsport CC | S | 7:02 | 10 |
| 7 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 7:33 | 8 |
| 8 | Martin Waters | Mule CC | V | 7:58 | 6 |
| 9 | Neil Wilson | Paramount CRT | V | 8:27 | 4 |
| 10 | Steve Jennings | Mule CC | V | 9:23 | 2 |
| 11 | Darrell Walsh | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 10:46 | 2 |
| 12 | Stephen Davies | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 10:59 | 2 |
| 13 | Liz Breeze | Mule CC | WV | 11:04 | 2 |
Veterans on Actual:
| Vets Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Vets Points |
| 1 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 7:33 | 20 |
| 2 | Martin Waters | Mule CC | V | 7:58 | 18 |
| 3 | Neil Wilson | Paramount CRT | V | 8:27 | 16 |
| 4 | Steve Jennings | Mule CC | V | 9:23 | 14 |
| 5 | Darrell Walsh | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 10:46 | 12 |
| 6 | Stephen Davies | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 10:59 | 10 |
| 7 | Liz Breeze | Mule CC | WV | 11:04 | 8 |
Women:
| Women’s Pos’n | Name | Club | Cat | Time | Women’s Points |
| 1 | Liz Breeze | Mule CC | WV | 11:04 | 20 |
Cumulative standings after five rounds
Overall Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 6 |
| 1 | Tomos Hales | Wrekinsport CC | S | 94 |
| 2 | David Scott | Mule CC | S | 60 |
| 3 | Scott Palmer | Bridgnorth CC | V | 54 |
| 4 | Matthew Redworth | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | S | 52 |
| =5 | Alex Hart | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J | 48 |
| =5 | Jack Young | Oswestry Paragon CC | S | 48 |
| 7 | Phil Roberts | Wrekinsport CC | S | 38 |
| 8 | Steven Prince | SCCA Private Member | V | 32 |
| 9 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 20 |
| =10 | Kirk Vickers | Holohan Coaching RT | S | 18 |
| =10 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 18 |
Veterans Top 10:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 6 |
| 1 | Neil Coles | Oswestry Paragon CC | V | 78 |
| 2 | Scott Palmer | Bridgnorth CC | V | 76 |
| 3 | Chris Riley | Paramount CRT | V | 68 |
| 4 | Steven Prince | SCCA Private Member | V | 40 |
| 5 | Andy Collins | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 34 |
| 6 | Ben Thompson | Wrekinsport CC | V | 30 |
| 7 | Neil Wilson | Paramount CRT | V | 20 |
| 8 | Martin Waters | Mule CC | V | 18 |
| =9 | Mark White | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | V | 14 |
| =9 | Oliver Rodwell | Wrekinsport CC | V | 14 |
| =9 | Steve Jennings | Mule CC | V | 14 |
Women’s standings:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 6 |
| 1 | Hayley Wells | Paramount CRT | W | 60 |
| 2 | Robin Jones | Bridgnorth CC | W | 36 |
| =3 | Becky Griffiths | Paramount CRT | W | 20 |
| =3 | Liz Breeze | Mule CC | WV | 20 |
| =5 | Daphne Jones | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | WJ | 18 |
| =5 | Victoria Doran | Wrekinsport CC | WV | 18 |
Junior standings:
| Position | Name | Club | Cat | Best 6 |
| 1 | Alex Hart | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | J | 60 |
| 2 | Ben Southgate | Wrekinsport CC | J | 38 |
| 3 | Daphne Jones | Mid Shropshire Wheelers | WJ | 16 |