When Rianna Mahoney entered her first National Hill Climb Championships in 2021 aged just 12, she did so with little expectation.

Returning three years later, still just 15, she did so as one of the favourites for the junior female title and walked away with an impressive runners-up finish.

This progress is particularly impressive as she only returned to hill climbing at the start of 2024 as a way of mixing up her cycling, having focused mainly on cyclo-cross.

What followed was a superb breakout season, picking up a first senior female victory and multiple podium finishes as Mahoney established herself as one of the sport’s brightest young talents.

Yet it was only a late decision that saw her return to hill climbing, as dad Tom explains: “With Rianna moving up an age group and starting her GCSEs, she was very busy and the first month of cyclo-cross was very difficult to balance travel with training and studying.

“The easy option is to chuck everything out and give everything up, but instead Rianna looked at how she could mix up her training and change her focus.

“After doing the nationals in 2021, she thought it was time to try hill climbs again and, after an entire season, here we are.”

And after a year of sustained progress the 4T+ Cyclopark rider, who still has three years remaining as a junior, is already planning her 2025 campaign.

“I’m definitely going to continue hill climbing, I’ve really enjoyed it and this year has been the most enjoyable yet,” said Rianna.

“In hill climbing, there is a lot less pressure placed on you, you don’t have to work on gridding like cyclo-cross, you just turn up and go as hard as you can for as long as you can until you’re finished.”

The highlight of this season was undoubtedly a win on her local climb at Bec Cycling Club, where she confounded even her own expectations by clinching a maiden senior female win in dramatic circumstances.

“I didn’t really expect much, dad told me there was a prize if you win senior female so I said I’d try but it was unlikely.

“I felt nervous as I set off then realised, I was in double chain ring and as I went through gears I felt it click into small ring and knew it was bad.

“But there was a man at the bottom who was telling me to keep my rhythm going and I thought I would listen to him and keep it steady.

“As I came round a corner I heard me dad hollering for me, all the people from my club were cheering me on and that gave me an adrenaline rush to stay out of my saddle and bury myself and by the end I was absolutely finished.

“At the end, someone from my club said I won the female title and I was like ‘yeah junior female’, and he said ‘no, senior female’ and it turned out I won by just half a second.

“Doing it on that course was special for me and I’ll always remember it.”

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