National Hill Climb Championships, 25 Oct 2020

On Sunday, I competed in the National Hill Climb Championships, which was my last race of the year. I hadn't done much specific training for it as I entered it quite last minute, but I just wanted to have a go at it to see if it's something I could focus on in the future. I had no goals or times that I wanted to achieve as I had nothing to compare it to.

On the day, I felt quite unprepared for it as I hadn't actually ridden the hill before so listened to advice from other people on how to pace it. My start didn't go too well as my cleat wasn't actually in the pedal properly which meant it slipped out. I tried to keep to a pace that I could hold for a few minutes, which I think went well. I felt like I could have gone harder when I got to the top because my legs didn't feel too bad, it was just the lungs that said no and were burning!

Overall, it was a good experience and I'll definitely have a go at some more hill climbs next year.

Izzie Johnson