Rutland Cycling Club Hill Climb

Andrew Feather earned victory as fastest male at the Rutland CC hill climb on Mam Nick, with Joanna Blackburn finishing as quickest female on the 1.3-mile course near Edale.

HuntBikeWheels.com rider Feather earned a morale-boosting victory over close rival Tom Bell (High North Performance) ahead of the much-anticipated National Hill Climb Championship in Denbighshire on October 30.

A time of 5-40.7 helped Feather to a dominant win, with Bell runner-up in 5-48.7 and Team PB Performance rider Jude Taylor clocking 6-14.4 to take third spot.

Bell’s High North Performance team-mate Blackburn set a time of 7-52.4 to win the women’s event ahead of Abi Plowman (Kendal Cycle Club) in 7-53.3 and Macclesfield Wheelers’ Alison Dockney in 8-06.1.

Bell was victorious in 2021 but Feather took the title in 2020 as well as winning at the 2018 event in Stocksbridge, Yorkshire, and success here puts the 37-year-old in a strong position to claim another championship.

This event, run on the OHC/10 course, starts at Barber Booth just before the bridge over River Noe and proceeds uphill to finish at the bus-stop lay-by just before the brow, lasting 1.3 miles in total.

* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission. This report by James Ayles.

* A gallery of images from this event is available here