Dan and Jessica Evans both claimed victory at the two stage East Lancs Road Club hill-climb event on Sunday.

This combination of courses was last competed on back in 2015 and it was the husband and wife duo, both riding for ASSOS Equipe UK, that topped their respective standings in both of the day’s races to claim the overall victory.

In the men’s competition, Dan, 36 and from Colwyn Bay, held off the challenge of 2016 National Hill Climb Champion Adam Kenway by 11.3 seconds, clocking exactly 10 minutes over the two stages to retain the title for another year.

Stage one saw the riders tackle the Moorcock climb on Huddersfield Road, a fairly constant gradient across 1.3 miles in distance.

Evans clocked 4:56.3, with Kenway (Raleigh GAC) 5.8 seconds behind, the pair well ahead of the rest of the field.

There was a tie for third on stage one, with Mike Morris (NFTO Race Club) and Kieran Manchester (Saddleworth Clarion CC) both clocking 5:33.1.

Stage two also measured approximately 1.3 miles, but the Buckstones Road course in Shaw did level out further from the line.

Heavy rain throughout the stage did not prevent a repeat performance however, with Evans again just over five seconds quicker than Kenway, with Morris this time taking third place outright to secure an overall podium finish.

In the women’s competition, Jessica made it a perfect day in the Evans household, claiming victory in 13:34.8 from Tamsin Vicary (Racing Chance Foundation) and veteran Claire Swoboda (Chorlton Velo) who completed the top three.

Similar to the men’s race, the battle was mainly between the top two, Evans gaining the early advantage in stage one by less than a second from Vicary.

The ASSOS Equipe UK rider faired even better in the rain though, clocking 6.45.7 to take a five-second victory, Vicary again second whilst Swoboda made it a brace of third place finishes on the day.

Also amongst the winners were Chris Edmondson (Velotik Racing Team), whose eighth place saw him take fastest veteran, host club rider Patrick Cooke who was the fastest junior and naturally, the Evans’s scooped the team prize.

* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.

 

Overall Standings:

Men:

1. Dan Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK)   10:00.0

2. Adam Kenway (Team Raleigh GAC)        10:11.3

3. Mike Morris (NFTO Race Club)     11:11.3

4. Kieran Manchester (Saddleworth Clarion CC)      11:30.0

5. Michael Harris (HD Revolutions)   11:32.0

6. Graham Kemp (Team Bottrill / HSS Hire) 11:48.7

Women:

1. Jessica Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK) 13:34.8

2. Tamsin Vicary (Racing Chance Foundation)          13:40.6

3. Claire Swoboda (Chorlton Velo)    14:50.3

 

Stage One:

Men:

1. Dan Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK)   4:56.3

2. Adam Kenway (Team Raleigh GAC)        5:02.1

=3. Mike Morris (NFTO Race Club)  5:33.1

=3. Kieran Manchester (Saddleworth Clarion CC)    5:33.1

5. Graham Kemp (Team Bottrill / HSS Hire) 5:47.2

6. Michael Harris (HD Revolutions)   5:49.3

Women:

1. Jessica Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK) 6:49.1

2. Tamsin Vicary (Racing Chance Foundation)          6:49.9

3. Claire Swoboda (Chorlton Velo)    7:16.8

 

Stage Two:

Men:

1. Dan Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK)   5:03.7

2. Adam Kenway (Team Raleigh GAC)        5:09.2

3. Mike Morris (NFTO Race Club)     5:38.2

4. Michael Harris (HD Revolutions)   5:42.7

5. Kieran Manchester (Saddleworth Clarion CC)      5:56.9

6. Graham Kemp (Team Bottrill / HSS Hire) 6:01.5

Women:

1. Jessica Evans (ASSOS Equipe UK) 6:45.7

2. Tamsin Vicary (Racing Chance Foundation)          6:50.7

3. Claire Swoboda (Chorlton Velo)    7:33.5