Rebecca Richardson (Brother UK) and the promoting club’s own Andy Nichols were fastest female and male respectively at the Team Lifting Gear climb of Pea Royd Lane in Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, on Sunday morning.

35-year-old Richardson covered the climb in 3:04.0 to take a comfortable victory in the women’s category by over 39 seconds with Becky Hair (Magspeed Racing) second with 3-43.2 and Nicola Soden (Datalynx Paranesis) third, another 37 seconds back.

And Nichols led a 1-2-3 for Team Lifting Gear Products with a time of 2-18.0 which gave him the win by 13 seconds from team-mate Nicholas Latimer, while Espoir Alex Raynard was third, another eight seconds back.

Top juvenile was Beeston CC’s Ryan Williams who flew up the hill in 2-43.7, while fastest veteran was Darrell Clarke (Ilkeston CC) whose time of 2-40.4 was good enough for fourth spot overall, and just missed out on the podium by 1.1 seconds.

The classic course – which has been used for the national championships on more than one occasion, starts at the junction with Hunshelf Road hear the steelworks, and heads over the bypass.

Fifth in last year’s national championships, 31-year-old Nichols has secured several victories since then. Most recently he won the Bolsover and District CC climb at Hardwick Hall, and on the Woodfall Lane climb staged by Sheffrec CC in Bradfield, just a few miles from his home in Sheffield.

He also won the Sitwell CC climb near Ulley reservoir last month, while he was also victorious in the Team Sheffield 10-mile time trial near Cuckney in Nottinghamshire in August.

Third in last year’s National Championships, Richardson’s victory was her second of this hill-climb season, according to her CTT record, having won the Border City Wheelers climb of Hartside Moor on September 12.

Nichols and Richardson went on to place fourth and first respectively at the Team Lifting Gear climb in Low Bradfield later on Sunday afternoon, and thereby took the overall victories across both stages.

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