Weaver Valley CC – Hill Climb 2019

It was hill climb time again this Sunday and this time we had already been through the loop, so things were a bit less stressful, only a bit mind! Yet again people came up trumps and we had all our helpers and Marshals lined up and ready to go. Quite a few new faces this time, which is great to see. The weather forecast had initially looked really great but soon changed to give us pretty much identical conditions to last year but hey, a bit of rain and mist, a slight breeze, limited visibility and an iconic climb to smash up, what’s not to like? Another tough day on the Cat was on the cards.

We’d had to put the start time back so as not to clash with the Brian Rourke Sportive and I’m so glad we did that with many large groups of riders seen on the road earlier on in the morning when putting up signage. So, at 14:01 we were off and our first rider in the ladies’ event was up the road.

Lucy Lee from Velo Club Melyd, set a fast time to start with a 23:36.1 and wasn’t caught by anyone in the field, taking the event win from 2nd place lady Jessica Evans of ASSOS Equipe UK with 24:02.7. A superb and confident time given the conditions. Our very own Carol Robson also posted a superb 29:37 for third place in the ladies’ event.

The men’s event also started in a similar vein, with Ed Lavarack from Swift Carbon Pro Racing setting a blistering time in less than ideal conditions of 18:31.2. Just the day after he finished riding the Tour of Britain with his team. When I asked him how the ride went he said “to be honest I was a bit tired…” 18:31.2 up the Cat and Fiddle…? Tired…? 🙂

Dan Evans (Assos Equipe UK) finished with 18:46.5 getting closer to Lavarack but this was only good enough for 3rd place as Richard Bussell (Aerocoach) came in with a rapid 18:33.5 to narrowly miss out on the win by around 2 seconds. This completed a trio of times under 19 minutes on a tough day.

In the team event, B38/Cycles In Motion pipped Macclesfield Wheelers this time to take the win

So, all in all another very successful day. Many thanks again to everyone who helped out organising and running the event this year. I have said it before, but your experience, knowledge and humour were very much in evidence and very much appreciated.

Alistair.

Results: