Defending champion Dan Fleeman retained his National Hill-Climb Champion title with a convincing victory on Dovers Hill in Gloucestershire on Sunday.
The Team Raleigh rider, who won last year’s race by 14 seconds from Matt Clinton, beat him again in the 2010 race near Weston-Sub-Edge. But this time the gap had fallen slightly - to less than seven seconds.
Fleeman clocked 3:41.1 for the 1,487-yard course, and while Clinton was 6.6 seconds slower, the best of the rest was 14 seconds adrift, Team Corley’s Michael Smith moving up from fourth last year.
Disappointed to miss out on a podium finish was Sri Chinmoy CT rider Tejvan Pettinger, who beat Clinton on Dovers Hill by three seconds last month, but was nine seconds adrift when it mattered in the title race on Sunday.
The women’s title went to Lynn Hamel (Team NCA) who was taking back the title she won in 2008, following Anna Fischer’s victory last year. Hamel clocked 5:04.0 to finish 81st overall in a field of 160 riders, and was best of the women by more than ten seconds from Team Zappi’s Chrissy Radon.
Matt Pilkington is British Universities’ Hill-Climb Champion
Matt Pilkington (Dulwich Paragon RC) finished 12th in the National Championships, but 24 hours earlier he was crowned British Universities’ Hill-Climb Champion after a narrow victory on the Curbar Gap climb in Derbyshire.
The Kings College student clocked 5:39 for the one-mile climb, winning by just two seconds from Luke Dunbar of the University of the West of England, while another eight seconds adrift was Leeds University’s Henry King.
And King also took the team prize alongside Tom Bell and Jack Kirk, who were fifth and sixth respectively.
In the women’s event, Lois Rossendale (Leeds Met) was fastest, while best team was Loughborough University who successfully defended their title, with third-placed Jessie Roberts teaming up with Mark Wilkinson.
Liam Killeen wins Ipswich ‘cross race
Round one winner Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) saw his lead in the National Trophy cyclo-cross series slashed in round two in Ipswich on Sunday when Liam Killeen took victory.
Killeen (unattached) pipped Oldham to the line in a thrilling sprint finish with just inches to separate the two, and leave Lancashire-based Oldham just eight points ahead of Killeen, while Jody Crawforth is third, fifth across the line on Sunday but third British rider.
A leading group of seven riders broke away on the opening lap, but this was quickly whittled down to just four as the pace proved high on the fast Chantry Park circuit.
Killeen and Oldham attacked with two laps remaining, and as they headed for the line Killeen edged ahead.
In other categories Forza Cycles’ Ruby Miller was fastest woman, improving from seventh spot in the first National Trophy Series race a fortnight ago, while Hannah Payton (Stourbridge CC) improved from sixth to second, and the runner-up in the opening race, Corrine Hall (Team Corridori) had to settle for third this time.
Coventry RC’s Darren Atkins held off former national champion Paul Oldham for the veterans win, while Endura Racing’s Steven Davies took a second Trophy win in the over-50s.
Duncan Jamieson takes Western League win
With league leader Scott Chalmers away at the National Trophy, other riders were hoping for a win in Sunday’s Striking Bikes Halloween cyclo-cross, part of the Western League. And it was local rider Duncan Jamieson who took the win.
Straight from the off he stretched out his lead, while the battle was forming between Dream team manager Craig Denning and his team mate Simon Burgess.
Neither could shake off the other for the whole race, and Craig took second place with Simon maintaining no orders were followed.
First veteran, Chas Thursfield had a lonely ride as seems to becoming a habit unable to keep up with the leaders and too quick for the group behind.
The winner of round four, Hargroves Cycles’ Matt MacDonald took a convincing win over Wessex League leader Peter Kench (GWR Team).
MacDonald took the win by 32 seconds from his rival over a fast course at Oxford Community School in Cowley which held the sixth round of the series in glorious dry and sunny conditions.
He hit the front from the start, holding a steady lead in almost clinical fashion and crossing the line half a minute ahead of Kench, while Paul Lloyd (Didcot Phoenix) was third, another 50 seconds back.
Meanwhile, Wightlink’s Sean Williams secured his first Wessex League victory of the season in the supporting race for veterans, women and juniors, pipping round four winner Lewis King by more than a minute, while Swindon RC’s Claire Smith was best woman.
Hill-climb and cyclo-cross results
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