Last Sunday, 8th October, I competed in my first ever hill climb race. Waking up after a 14 mile fell race the day before I wondered why I had signed up for two races in one weekend, and very strongly considered bailing on the hill climb. However it was October and the sun was shining, so I knew I had no excuse and would regret not giving it a go! I was due to start at 10.49. I got up early, cleaned and oiled my bike and got everything packed in the car so I wouldn't be late (something I'm notorious for). About 10 minutes into the drive I realised I'd forgotten my watch, so back home we went!

When I arrived it all felt very serious. Lots of insanely expensive bikes and people warming up on turbos next to their cars. I signed in and got my number, and then because of my silly blunder only managed a measly 6 minute warmup. I arrived at the start line quite optimistic; I only had myself to beat really. I'd cycled the 3 mile hill once before in 23 minutes, so I was hoping for sub-20.

The men at the start line were lovely and chatted to me to ease my nerves. One told me to pass him my water bottle to save on weight, which I found quite funny and realised that maybe I wasn't taking this as seriously as others (I also regret this decision as I forgot to collect my bottle at the end!). Just before I was about to start, another man held my bike and told me to put my back wheel on a block / clip into my pedals. If I'm honest I had no idea what was going on and felt quite overwhelmed! Surely I would fall over as soon as he let go?! Not wanting to embarrass myself, I politely asked if I could start on my own with one foot on the ground…

I think I paced the climb pretty well. I wasn't looking at speed but based it on my heart rate, which I kept at threshold most of the way until the sprint finish where it peaked. During the climb a few cyclists passed me and I realised they were all spinning faster, so I dropped a gear and found this definitely helped. The atmosphere was great with quite a few people supporting and other cyclists shouting encouragement as they were on their descent. This definitely helped push through some mental battles! About 1 mile from the end I checked the time and realised it was going to be close getting sub-20. I used that to really push hard for the finish line. I was happy to finish with a time of 19.50 and 6th woman out of 9. My time wasn't super speedy, but I had to remind myself that I was racing some of the best cyclists in the country, and I'm proud of myself for giving it a go!

Georgia Roberts

Snake Pass Hill Climb, 8 Oct 2023

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