St Ives CC Hill Climb, 12 September 2018

Whilst riding to the hillclimb I was feeling fairly apprehensive as my legs were feeling quite stiff. My warm up went alright as normal before an event. The start was an all-out sprint and I was able to settle at a good pace before Beltons hill started to bite. I held on the power as much as possible but slowed completely as I reached the top. Going down the next hill I was out of the saddle to get enough speed to counter the slow average. I went full gas here and kept a really good pace. Going up the last hill was a real challenge but I was noticeably faster than last year. After some last encouragement from spectators I opened the tanks and went for the line. That's going down as one of my toughest road races. I was pleased with the result, with a PB and first place in my category.

Ollie Maynard

I was nervous about the event based on recent lack of form, and considered missing it for this year, but decided to go in the end, and it was a beautiful evening. My warmup was shorter than ideal due to some race number issues, but at least I started in the right gear unlike last year! I felt good going up the first climb, but then predictably rather lacking in power up the second drag, and struggled to the finish. I very surprised to find my time was 1 second quicker than last year, and also that I had retained my Vets title, which was very pleasing.

Tim Phillips

Photo: Dan Benham