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The battle for the National Hill-Climb Championships at the end of the month continued to gather pace with many of the top seeds recording victories across the country last weekend.
Defending champion Richard Bussell (AeroCoach) stormed to a convincing victory by 15 seconds in the Worcester St Johns and Wyre Forest CC joint promotion at Shelsey Walsh in Worcestershire, which he also won last year.
He covered the 1,000-yard climb in 2.36, leaving former national champion Matt Clinton (Mike Vaughan Cycles) second with 2.51 and Jack O’Neill (Team B38) third, another two seconds off. Jessica Rhodes-Jones (Beacon RCC) was fastest female with 4.16.
Adam Kenway (Metaltek-Kuota) bettered many top names as he powered up the 675-yard Monsal climb to win Sheffrec CC’s event on Sunday.
He clocked the second fastest time ever of 1:16.5 to win by 0.2 seconds from last year’s winner Joe Clark (Envelopemaster), while Russ Downing (JLT Condor) was third.
Fastest woman was Lou Bates (Veloschils Interbike) who broke the women’s course record with 1:42.8.
Second in last year’s national championships, Dan Evans (Team Elite-Paul Bethell Electrical) secured three victories last weekend.
He won both stages of the Otley CC event on Guise Cliff and Norwood Edge, breaking his own course record for the Guise Cliff climb, while Jeff Wright’s 22-year-old record for Norwood Edge remained intact for another year.
Evans then went on to win Sunday’s Horseshoe Pass climb near Llangollen, staged by Fibrax-Wrexham RC.
He clocked 8.54 for the two-mile climb, winning by 33 seconds from Chris Dyke (Manchester BC).
Prorace CT rider Josh Teasdale won Cleveland Wheelers’ climb on Clay Bank, clocking 5.32 for the 1.6-mile climb at Great Broughton.
His time of 5.32 was 34 seconds better than his nearest rival, with Adam Jarps (Manilla RT) second and Toby Tanfield (Cleveland Wheelers) third.
And it was the same top two in Sunday afternoon’s Stockton Wheelers climb of Carlton Bank, where Teasdale clocked exactly six minutes for the 1.4-mile climb, beating Jarps by 50 seconds.
And in time trialling, Dean Robson (No Pinz) clocked 54.08 in the Gloucester City CC 25 near Maisemore, beating Danny Axford (Arctic Tacx0 into second spot by almost a minute and a half.
VC Baracchi dominated the podium in their 10-mile time trial on Saturday, with Mark Richards, Liam Gentry and James Moore securing a 1-2-3, Richards clocking 20.57.