Oswestry Paragon CC Mount Road Hill Climb

There’s a tremendous battle going on to gain the upper hand in The Coaching Revolutions Hill Climb Series as David Scott and Kirk Vickers once again went head-to-head in Round 6, Oswestry Paragon’s Mount Road climb – as the destination of the Veteran’s Championship was settled. The climb rises 500 feet in it’s 1.65 miles with the difficulty of correctly pacing a short downhill stretch before what seems like a brick wall to conquer rears up in the final half mile which will catch out any rider who doesn’t treat it with respect. Mule CC’s Scott took the win for the third event in a row in a fine time of 6 minutes, 10.84 seconds as he tries to unseat the rider who has made this Series his own for the last three years.

With a headwind adding to the challenge Scott was under no illusions that he had to temper his effort well to save blowing up on the hardest section, commenting: “It’s a tough climb to judge, but I just about managed to pace it right. I’m happy to win a third hill climb on the bounce! It’s always close with Kirk“!

Vickers leads the Series and has a lot of respect for both Scott and the Mount Road climb which offers a hard challenge even for the most experienced of climbers. The Holohan Coaching rider stopped the watch on 6:16.99 but didn’t manage to stretch his 94 point tally in this best 5 from 9 Series this time having entered every round so far. He stated: “A difficult hill climb as pacing is key. I gave it all I could and felt I paced it well, but not enough for David’s effort“.

It was youth to the fore capturing third spot as Hafren CC’s Sam Holwill put his light weight to full advantage to outpace many more experienced riders. Holwill won the Junior event with a great ride of 6:38.81, beating Junior Series leader Henri Bedford by almost a minute by putting prior experience of the climb to good use. Bedford was encountering the climb for the first time, but Holwill clearly suffered into the headwind, finishing 11 seconds off his winning 2018 time. He stated: “It felt like a headwind so it was difficult to pace the downhill section. As a result the top half felt tougher than before“.

A first time entrant to the Veteran’s Series took the Gold medal with a fabulous 100 point maximum haul after winning all five rounds he has entered. North Shropshire Wheeler Richard Kay has beaten all-comers with some excellent performances, crossing the line in 7:12.87 to beat nearest challenger Chris Riley by nearly 40 seconds. Encountering the tough ask for the first time Kay revealed unfamiliarity meant he paced his effort wrongly on the ever-changing gradient: “Although a lackadaisical first half left me with a literal mountain to climb on the final ramp, I dug deep to salvage what turned out to be a good result. Many thanks Oswestry Paragon“. When told he had won the Veteran’s Series a delighted Kay added: “I’m really pleased to win the Veteran’s Series. Thank you to all promoting clubs and volunteers, and a big respect to the other competitors in this category, I know it gets harder with every year“.

Just one female took on the challenge as Rebecca Richardson fines tunes for the upcoming National hill climb which takes place in Devon on 27th October. Richardson finished a strong fifth overall amongst a field of 23 riders in a fine time of 6:53.21, less than three seconds off the Women’s course record of 6:50.61 held by former National Champion Becky Lewis. Richardson was pleased with her effort, commenting: “A tough headwind, so it’s a confidence boost to be so close to a very respectable course record set by the two times former National Hill Climb Champion. Thanks to Oswestry Paragon CC“.

Result:

Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Points
1 David Scott Mule CC S 06:10.84 20
2 Kirk Vickers Holohan Coaching RT S 06:16.99 18
3 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 06:38.81 16
4 Jack Morris Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 06:45.71 14
5 Rebecca Richardson Brother UK Fusion RT W 06:53.21  
6 James Davies Mule CC S 06:56.49 12
7 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 07:12.87 10
8 James Hards Unattached S 07:22.41  
9 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 07:37.08 8
10 Jack Young Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 07:42.08 6
11 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 07:52.49 4
12 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 07:56.81 2
13 Mark Manson Mule CC V 08:02.71 2
14 Andy Perry Mule CC V 08:16.69 2
15 Jon Davies Mule CC V 08:18.96 2
16 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V 08:20.58 2
17 Steve Roberts Oswestry Paragon CC V 08:54.78 2
18 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V 09:29.87 2
19 Nick Breeze Mule CC V 09:38.55 2
20 Stuart Kynaston Mule CC V 09:41.46 2
=21 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 10:44.99 2
=21 David Jones Wrexham RC V 10:44.99  
23 Mike Dovaston Mule CC V 11:32.62 2

Veterans Result:

Veterans Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Veterans Points
1 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 07:12.87 20
2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 07:52.49 18
3 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 07:56.81 16
4 Mark Manson Mule CC V 08:02.71 14
5 Andy Perry Mule CC V 08:16.69 12
6 Jon Davies Mule CC V 08:18.96 10
7 Adam Riley Oswestry Paragon CC V 08:20.58 8
8 Steve Roberts Oswestry Paragon CC V 08:54.78 6
9 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V 09:29.87 4
10 Nick Breeze Mule CC V 09:38.55 2
11 Stuart Kynaston Mule CC V 09:41.46 2
12 David Jones Wrexham RC V 10:44.99  
13 Mike Dovaston Mule CC V 11:32.62 2

Juniors Result:

Junior Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Junior Points
1 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 06:38.81 20
2 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 07:37.08 18
3 Jack Young Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 07:42.08 16
4 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 10:44.99 14

Women’s Result:

Women’s Pos’n Name Club Cat Time Women’s Points
1 Rebecca Richardson Brother UK Fusion RT W 06:53.21  

Cumulative standings after six rounds

Overall Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Kirk Vickers Holohan Coaching RT S 94
2 David Scott Mule CC S 78
=3 Jack Morris Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 48
=3 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 48
5 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 42
6 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 38
7 David Hiatt Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 26
8 Liam Holohan Holohan Coaching RT S 20
9 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 18
=10 Aled Lees Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 16
=10 Dave Saunders Mid Shropshire Wheelers S 16
=10 Dean Callister Nova Raiders S 16
=10 George Nistor Paramount CRT S 16
=10 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 16
=10 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 16
=10 Robbie Disney Ludlow CC S 16
=10 Tomos Hales Wrekinsport CC S 16
=10 Tyler Brennan Hafren CC S 16

Veterans Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Richard Kay North Shropshire Wheelers V 100
2 Chris Riley Paramount CRT V 90
3 Neil Coles Oswestry Paragon CC V 82
4 Neil Wilson Paramount CRT V 50
5 Darrell Walsh Oswestry Paragon CC V 16
=6 Mark Manson Mule CC V 14
=6 Rich Smith Wrekinsport CC V 14
=6 Simon Jones Hafren CC V 14
=9 Andy Collins Mid Shropshire Wheelers V 12
=9 Andy Perry Mule CC V 12
=9 Fraser MacKinnon SCCA Private Member V 12

Junior Top 10:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Henri Bedford Revolutions Racing J 94
2 Charlie Price Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 74
3 Sam Holwill Hafren CC J 60
=4 Alex Hart Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18
=4 Fred Meredith Hafren CC J 18
=4 James Satoor Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 18
=7 Henry Fleming Wrekinsport CC J 16
=7 Jack Young Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 16
=7 Lewis Page Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 16
=7 Noah Killeen Mid Shropshire Wheelers J 16

Women’s standings:

Position Name Club Cat Best 5
1 Emma Serjeant Hafren CC W 40
=2 Bethan Till Wrekinsport CC W 20
=2 Natalie Brooks Paramount CRT W 20
4 Louise Hurdley Hafren CC WV 18
5 Sahrah Wilding Hafren CC WV 16