Records fall as Galler and Storey win on Quarrington Hill
Rachel Galler (Saint Piran) and Alexander Storey (GS Metro) broke the women’s and men’s course records respectively at the Houghton CC climb of Quarrington Hill in County Durham on Sunday.
Galler clocked 2-18.2 for the climb to place 14th overall and finish as fastest female by 13 seconds from Blaydon CC rival Sarah Wilkinson, while Sarah Wann (EMC Cycling) was another 30 seconds back in third in the women’s category.
Meanwhile Alexander Storey covered the course in 1-52.3 to take the win by just 0.6 of a second from Hugo Storey (Muckle CC) with his team-mate Adam Pinder being third, 5.3 seconds behind the winner’s pace.
Storey’s time knocks 2.6 seconds off the old course record for this version of the course held since 2017 by Nick Spencer, while Galler broke Hannah Farran’s women’s course record.
Riders were greeted by dry and sunny conditions for the event near Cassop, with chilly early temperatures subsiding slightly by the time the first rider set off at 11am.
“I am very happy with my performance this morning – three wins out of three and a course record today,” said Galler. “This climb suited me really well. It’s short and steep so a perfect opportunity to not overthink it, worrying what to do where and when – basically, I had a blast from the off.”
And Storey said: “I’m really happy with this result. I wasn’t sure how I’d get on as it was my first time up the climb.
“There were a lot of decent north east riders entered which made me doubt myself a little bit. Many thanks to Houghton CC and all of the marshals that helped out today.”
Galler and Storey both move on to the Muckle CC climb on Prospect Hill next Sunday, before the National Championships on October 29.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.
Results:
Pos Rider Club Gender Category Time
1 Alexander Storey GS Metro Male Senior 1:52.3
2 Hugo Storey Muckle Cycle Club Male Senior 1:52.9
3 Adam Pinder Muckle Cycle Club Male Senior 1:57.6
4 Daniel Keegan Cestria C.C. Male Senior 1:58.2
5 John Bowman Muckle Cycle Club Male Vet 2:03.1
6 Rafe Williams Team Bikestop Tyrekey 3FS Male Senior 2:04.6
7 Noel Stoddart Allen Valley Velo Male Vet 2:09.3
8 Jonathan Cairns Muckle Cycle Club Male Senior 2:10.7
8 Michael Noble Muckle Cycle Club Male Senior 2:10.7
10 Charlie Thew Racing Metro 15 Male Junior 2:12.7
11 Michael Charlton GS Metro Male Senior 2:14.4
12 Owen Haggerty Muckle Cycle Club Male Junior 2:16.1
13 Andrew Smith Muckle Cycle Club Male Vet 2:16.9
14 Rachel Galler Saint Piran Female Senior 2:18.2
15 Simon Crisp Gosforth RC Male Senior 2:19.8
16 Chris Wann EMC Cycling Male Vet 2:28.2
17 Philip Parsley Muckle Cycle Club Male Senior 2:29.2
18 Sarah Wilkinson Blaydon CC Female Vet 2:31.9
19 Tim Burdon Allen Valley Velo Male Vet 2:34.4
20 Rohan Rayner-Smith Cleveland Wheelers CC Male Senior 2:40.1
21 Brendan McMillan Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service CC Male Vet 2:40.2
22 Stephen Boxall Houghton CC Male Vet 2:41.6
23 Graham Green Protech Velo Male Vet 2:53.5
24 Mark Whaley Blaydon CC Male Vet 2:56.0
25 Sarah Wann EMC Cycling Female Vet 3:02.9
26 David Lavery North Tyneside Riders CC Male Vet 3:05.0
27 Barry Holyoak South Shields Velo Cycling Club Male Vet 3:20.9
28 Stephen Kerr Sunderland Clarion Male Vet 3:45.8
29 Steven Burns Houghton CC Male vet 3:54.3
Colin Atkinson Muckle Cycle Club Male Vet APOLS
Thomas Brown Derwent Valley Cycling Club Male Senior APOLS
Martin Mikkelsen-Barron Velo Club Cumbria Male Senior APOLS
Madeleine Bell Musselburgh RCC Female Senior DNS