The hill-climb season begins in earnest this weekend, and reigning champion Andrew Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) is heading to Cumbria on Sunday to tackle the 4.9-mile Hartside Pass climb.

Feather will be hoping to take his second victory of the hill-climb season following a win at the Team Bikestop Tyrekey climb last Sunday, but this weekend’s Border City Wheelers event has a strong field of riders who will be hoping to challenge Feather for glory.

Andy Cunningham (Wheelbase CabTech) and Jude Taylor (Team PB Performance) are expected to push for the podium too, as well as Solihull CC’s David Fellows.

Another former National Champion, Ed Laverack is the top seed at the Sid Valley CC climb of Peak Hill near Sidmouth, and the Backpedal rider will be hoping to take the win in a county where he won his hill-climb title back in 2019.

Pushing him will be Josh Coyne (Bpm Coaching), while Wiebke Rietz (First Chard Wheelers) is expected to be fastest female.

Adam Kenway (Team Brother UK) won the National Hill-Climb Championships back in 2016, and he too will be aiming to make a strong start to his hill-climbing season at Saturday’s Buxton CC climb of the one-mile Bunsall Cob.

Pushing him for the win will be Leon Wright (Race Hub) as well as Alex Raynard (Trek Bicycles Bakewell).

Other hill-climb events this weekend include the Bolsover and District CC climb in the grounds of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, a 615-metre climb which looks likely to be hard fought.

According to national rankings provider Spindata the top seeds should be Gregg Booker (SUMMAT CC), Andy Nichols (Team Lifting Gear Products) and talented junior Isaac Oliver (Sheffield Youth CC). Lifting Gear Products’ Emilie Verroken should be fastest female.

Alex Storey (GS Metro) and Hannah Farran (Team Boompods) are expected to be fastest male and female at the North Tyneside Riders’ climb of Winter’s Gibbett on Sunday, while also on the calendar this weekend is the AIMS Cycling 1km event in North Yorkshire.

The time trialling calendar this week is topped by the National Youth Championships in East Yorkshire, where the top young talent from across the country will be battling for honours.

Having qualified through a series of regional heats, they will converge on the V714 course at Gilberdyke near Hull to see who the latest juniors will be to join a long list of former winners of the George Herbert Stancer Memorial including Josh Tarling, Alex Dowsett, Ian Stannard and Chris Boardman.

With the last few weeks of the season still to come riders have plenty of chances to get in qualifying rides for the British Best All-Rounder title, including the Yorkshire Road Club 25, Epsom CC 25 and Stevenage CC 25 on Saturday.

Sunday’s qualifying events include the VTTA Kent 25, the Cambridge CC 25 and the Gloucester City CC 25, while over the shorter 10-mile distance there’s the Ratae Road Club 10 in Leicestershire, the Bournemouth Arrow 10 near Ringwood in Hampshire and the Loose Cannon’s Conditioning 10 in Suffolk.

Check back to the CTT website and social media feeds for reports on events as the weekend progresses!

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