What a Great Day Out

A good number of Welland Valley members took a trip to Matlock last weekend to watch the National Hill Climb. Well, we couldn’t stay away really, what with six club members taking on the challenge  – and what a challenge!

This year the climb was up Bank Road in Matlock and there were 460 competitors taking part with a 30 second gap between each of them at the start. A few more statistics for you; the course was a tad over 800m long with a climb of just over 100m. The average gradient was 14% with 20% on the steepest section.

There was a big crowd cheering on all the competitors, egged on by commentator Matt Stephens . This year, it was the first time that there was section for paracyclists which was great to see and, because it was held on a closed road, children as young as 7 were able to take part. GCN presenters Dan Lloyd, Conor Dunne and Ollie Bridgewood were also competing so there was plenty to keep the crowd entertained.

However, for us, the real stars were Mike , Kamila, Lydia, Jason, Wayne and Ruby and you can be sure we encouraged them as loudly as possible. Their rides were truly inspirational and they must be so proud of their times. You can find all the results here Professional Chip Timing & Event Services in the UK | Titanium Race Timing although at the time of posting the times are still provisional .

Special mention must go to Ruby who won the junior category beating the competition by over 14 seconds. That makes it two national championship wins this season.

Thanks to Greg, Chris, Ros, Jason and Ray, we managed to capture their efforts on film so we hope you enjoy the clips below.