Verroken and Brown victorious in Tickhill Velo climb
Emilie Verroken (Maxx RT) and Calum Brown (Team B38-Underpin Racing) were fastest female and male competitors at the Tickhill Velo hill-climb in South Yorkshire on Sunday.
40-year-old Verroken clocked 1-34.1 to win by just over ten seconds from Hannah Riechert (Albarosa CC), while Claire Swoboda (VC St Raphael) clocked 2-07.0 for third.
And Brown added to his list of recent victories with a time of 1-01.9 to take the overall win by almost four seconds from James Hill (Team PB Performance), while Andy Nichols (Team B38-Underpin Racing) was third, another six seconds off the pace.
The weather had been atrocious the previous days as Storm Callum crossed the country, and while the wind had dropped considerably it was still persistently raining as the day of the event dawned. Other than standing water and leaves there were no hazards to identify.
First rider away at 10:01 was Oliver Hartmann from Tickhill Velo opening the event for the organising club followed by a steady procession of riders cheered on by a few stalwart supporters under umbrellas along the course.
Brown had won the event 12 months previously and he did so again, albeit around half a second slower than the previous year.
His win comes after taking victory in the Sheffrec CC Monsal hill-climb seven days earlier, as well as winning the Bolsover and District CC event in the grounds of Hardwick Hall in September.
Verroken’s form is good heading into the national championships. As well as winning this Tickhill Velo event, she was victorious in the Sheffrec CC climb at Monsal, the Bolsover and District CC event in September and the Birdwell Wheelers climb in August.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.