GS Metro team-mates Zeb Kyffin and Fiona Burnie were the winners at the fourth Allen Valley Velo two-stage hill climb in Northumberland on Sunday.

The duo were untouchable on Sunday, winning both stages on their way to overall victory - Kyffin by 57.5 seconds and Burnie by over three minutes.

Stage one was four miles in length but not a typical hill climb course. The climb itself was fairly shallow and makes up part of a much larger Derwentside 40-mile course. The conditions were good for this time of the year too, fairly cool with a north-easterly breeze offering some assistance to the riders at the main right-hand turn.

Kyffin set the early pace with a commanding display and as the last rider off was the only competitor to clock under 12 minutes, stopping the clock at 11:41.3 for an event record.

It was a tight battle for second and third, with Gosforth RC Jonathan Bayley clocking 12:26.8 to carry a slender advantage of 2.3 seconds over Matthew Smith (Muckle CC) going into stage two.

The shorter stage two was just one mile and a lot steeper than the earlier stage, but in terms of result it was a repeat performance.

Kyffin was again imperious stopping the clock in 4:33.2 for an overall winning time of 16:14.5.

Bayley again held off Smith, this time by a single second, to claim second place overall with Smith settling for third.

Kyffin was second in this event in 2016 but looks to have started the hill-climb season in good form, this win coming on the back of time trial wins at the Barnesbury CC 3-up 18 and Blaydon CC 14 earlier this year.

In the women’s competition, Fiona Burnie defended her title from 2016 with an impressive performance throughout the day.

The GS Metro rider also registered an event record on stage one, clocking 14:09.1, before posting 5:47.1 in stage two for a combined time of 19:56.2, nearly 20 seconds faster than her winning time last year.

A formidable rider on the hilly courses, Burnie also picked up the women’s prize at Allen Valley Velo’s 24.8 mile mountain event back in June.

Second and third went to Joanna Rae (Blaydon CC) and veteran Fran Little, who was also third last year.

Meanwhile, there was an impressive fourth place finish for 51-year-old Colin Atkinson (Muckle CC) from Jarrow, who was fourth in both stages.

Ninth place in stage one and seventh place in stage two was enough for junior James Corfield (Gosforth RC) to take a creditable eighth place overall.

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Overall Standings:

1. Zeb Kyffin (GS Metro)      16:14.5

2. Jonathan Bayley (Gosforth RC)     17:12.0

3. Matthew Smith (Muckle CC)         17:15.3

4. Colin Atkinson (Muckle CC)          17:35.2

5. John Bowmar (Muckle CC)            17:58.3

6. Charles Bayley (Gosforth RC)       18:03.8

7. Lewis Timmins (Muckle CC)          18:13.7

8. James Corfield (Gosforth RC)        18:43.8

9. Nick Badcock (Allen Valley Velo) 18:48.4

10. Craig Deacon (South Shields Velo)          18:59.6

Women:

1. Fiona Burnie (GS Metro)    19:56.2

2. Joanna Rea (Blaydon CC)  23:05.9

3. Fran Little (One Life Racing)         25:31.0