R9 BBR Hill Climb Series: Ludlow CC Bedlam climb

Three further medals were finally sealed in Round 9 of The BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series as Ludlow CC ran their second event of the Series on the tough as old boots Bedlam climb. A dead-end running up towards Clee Hill is not a climb for the faint-hearted, and things were made even harder by a solid day’s rain which though abating pre-race left the climb wet, slippery and covered in detritus washed down from the rain and reduced the field to just seven riders. The win was the second success on the trot for a Veteran as Will Witterick recovered enough from a nasty injury to not only seal the Overall and Veteran’s wins in a great time of 6 minutes 39.1 seconds up the tough 1.27 mile climb – he also took Veteran’s Gold and retook the Silver medal position overall too.

This fabulous effort was another first-time sighting of one of the hidden delights of Shropshire. However, Witterick nearly lost out with a poor start and finish, as he explained: “I had a bad start, failing to clip in, but settled down OK after that. However, mis-judgment at the end meant I ended up crawling across the finish line at a snail’s pace. What a climb though! It’s like a purpose built hill climb – well done Ludlow CC. I was very happy to have won Veteran’s Gold, many thanks SCCA for the Series; I’ve now got some new climbs to include in my winter training. I thought my Series over after I tried to slice off my thumb before the Propel CC round, many thanks Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for sewing it back up”!

Witterick finally managed to pull himself away from the Paul Bailey who has been breathing down his neck in the chase for the Gold, but with Witterick finally taking the Championship, Bailey sealed Silver – but he has ambitions to come back stronger in 2025: “The Hill Climb Series has been fantastic motivation for me – it has really kick started an ambition to get back to being fully fit. I’m going to build on this over the winter and aim for the top step next year”!

More usually found at Cyclo-Cross events, a very impressive first ever effort at a hill climb in racing mode saw Ffion Gilbert take the female win and runner-up overall in an excellent time of 6:57.4. This is a hill she has used in training as originally from Ludlow but now based in the Liverpool area; and she found time around visiting family to test herself in anger – and didn’t come away disappointed. Her comments show the conditions facing riders: “I’m really pleased to be runner-up at the event. It’s a local climb to my family home so I’ve done my share of suffering up there before. Conditions made it trickier as there were patches of gravel that had been washed down onto the road. I favour riding seated, so I think this played into my favour. It was my first hill climb and everyone was super friendly so, thank you to Ludlow CC for organising”.

It was a close call for third spot as event organiser Robbie Disney took that place from Ludlow Brewery’s Grant Womack by 9.7 seconds in a solid time of 7:34.2 in his first appearance of the 2024 Series. Disney did not have the most ideal preparation, having to rush to the event to sort the administrative side, and kept well within his limits: “My first hill climb this year, I’d just come from work so knew it would be painful. I paced it smoothly but erred on side of caution, I probably could have pushed harder. Sadly it was raining before which put some riders off, but hats off to the winner and to Ffion – looking very strong”.

The third medal on the night went to Paramount CRT’s Claire Blackwell-Smyth who can no longer be caught; taking Female Silver after organising Round 1 in a discipline she is clearly keen on. She was delighted to win, but is still in competitive mood, commenting: “I’ve really enjoyed the hill climbs again this year with new PB’s on all the courses I have ridden before. The support and welcome from other riders is amazing, and it would be great to see more female riders taking part. There’s just one more SCCA event for me this year; which is the Mule CC event on October 5^th”. Meanwhile, riding his third event of the Series James Saunders of Shibden Apex RT took the Junior win in 8:03.2.

Full:

Veterans:

Females:

Juniors:

Cumulative standings after nine rounds:

Overall:

Veterans:

Females:

Juniors: