Bell and Parton victorious in the Nick ‘O’ Pendle climb
Tom Bell (High North Performance) came out on top in North Lancashire Road Club’s climb of Nick ‘O’ Pendle, while in the women’s event it was Keri Parton (ProVision RC) that topped the podium.
31-year-old Bell clocked in at 3:21.1 to set a new course record and beat the reigning national champion Feather by 3.5 seconds over the 1,350-yard climb.
Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) also beat the previous record as he clocked in at 3:24.6, while third was Tom Garnett (Geared Up C and N Cycles RT) who finished off the podium with a final time of 3:55.0.
Bell, who finished second in the National Championships last year, looks poised to be on the podium again this year.
Since the start of the hill climb season he has finished in the top two in each and every one of the nine recorded climbs on the CTT website, making that ten after this event.
Feather beat Bell in the previous day’s climb on Ripponden Bank, setting up this year’s title race to be a fascinating encounter.
In the women’s event it was Keri Parton (ProVision RC) that was fastest female, completing the climb in 5:45.8. She was the only woman to participate in the event.
The quickest veteran on the day was Andrew Askwith (Vive le Velo), he rode a time of 5:07.8. on the other end of the spectrum the quickest junior and juvenile riders were Maxwell Hereward (Green Jersey CC) - 4:22.1 and Patrick Casey (Team Lifting Gear) - 4:11.9.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission. This report by Neral Buckley.