Now in it’s 5th edition the Butts Lane Hillclimb is back from it’s COVID Lockdown and proving as tough as ever. On the outskirts of Eastbourne starting in Willingdon Village this is rough, tough 1KM Hillclimb with an average gradient of 13% and hitting 20% at it’s steepest point.
Hosted by Beachy Head Cycling Club, the event is a friendly and competi- tive event with an end of season feel and an opportunity for a few pints after your climb at our wonderful event HQ, The Wheatsheaf pub just around the corner from the start.
Feather breaks record, Palmer quickest female at Beachy Head
Andrew Feather crosses the line
Reigning national champion Andrew Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) sliced 20 seconds from the old course record, while Kate Palmer (1904 RT) was fastest woman at the Beachy Head CC climb of Butts Lane near Willingdon on Saturday.
36-year-old Exeter-based Feather clocked 3-18.0 to take the win on the day by 30 seconds from Ashley Dennis (Things That), while just one second further back in third place was Reading CC’s James Scrivener.
Palmer’s time of 5-12.0 gave her the women’s prize by eight seconds from Olivia Webb (Eastbourne Rovers CC), with third spot going to Wendy Mathie (Penge CC) who was quickest female at the morning’s East Sussex CA climb on Firle Bostal.
Sam Clark (TBW23-Stuart Hall Cycling) was quickest espoir with 3-52.0 for fifth overall, and he went on to take third in Sunday’s Farnham Road Club climb of Brockham Hill Lane near Holybourne.
The top veteran was Richard Cartland (HuntBikeWheels.com) in sixth spot with 3-54.0, ten seconds clear of Ashley Nunn (Addiscombe CC) in second.
The climb is 1.05 kilometres long and begins near the junction with Coopers Hill before proceeding up westwards, skirting Combe Hill and finishing at Butts Brow in the South Downs National Park.
Kate Palmer
This was Andrew Feather’s ninth win of the season in open hill-climbs, having won one stage of last weekend’s Otley CC two-stage climbs in West Yorkshire but missed out on the overall by a whisker.
Apart from that, he has also won the Rossendale RC climb on Crown Point, the Chippenham and District Wheelers event on Bowden Hill, the Exeter Wheelers climb of Stoke Hill, Watford Velo Sport’s Whiteleaf climb, the Sodbury Cycle Sport event on Coombe Hill and Buxton CC’s event on Bunsall Cob.
Kate Palmer has only ridden three open hill-climbs so far this season prior to this event, and won both of the Brighton Mitre CC climbs two weeks earlier as well as placing third behind reigning national champion Bithja Jones at the Kingston Wheelers climb in September.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.
