Alexander Storey picked up his sixth win of an impressive season in the men’s event at the Cestria CC Peth Bank hill climb on Saturday morning, with Rachel Galler earning victory in the women’s event.

Riding for GS Metro, Storey finished in 4-09.1 with Muckle Cycle Club’s John Bowman taking the runners-up spot in 4-09.5 in what was an incredibly tight finale, while a time of 4-14.7 helped Andy Cunningham (Wheelbase-CabTech) complete the podium in third.

From 11 events so far this season Storey has now recorded six wins, with four in time trials and two in hill climbs – his first coming at the North Tyneside Riders’ Winter Gibbet climb on September 10.

On his victory, Storey said: “It was a really slick one today which made the steep sections tougher than they are already, but I’m over the moon with my first outright hill climb win against some proper hitters.  Thanks so much to the organisers and marshals for all they do every weekend.”

In the women’s event, Galler (Saint Piran) clocked 5-27.5 to finish ahead of Blaydon CC’s Sarah Wilkinson in 5-29.0, while Hannah Farran of Team Boompods was third in 5-33.0.

“Peth Bank proved to be a tough all-rounder, both distance-wise and the terrain,” said Galler. “I practised some seated climbing this week as I knew how slippy it gets on those steep sections and didn’t want to risk a rear wheel-spin and it paid off. I climb out of the saddle mostly so for me it was quite difficult to get right. Once I got into a rhythm, it felt pretty good.”

This event, run on the MH2 course, starts just outside Lanchester and sees riders ascend uphill to finish on Peth Bank Road.

Riders endured difficult conditions due to heavy overnight rain and fresh winds that left the climb littered in storm debris, with the climb very steep at the bottom and offering no real respite at all until the finish line.

Results:

Men:

1. Alexander Storey (GS Metro)         4:09.1

2. John Bowman (Muckle Cycle Club)          4:09.5

3. Andy Cunningham (Wheelbase-CabTech)  4:14.7

4. Daniel Keegan (Cestria Cycle Club)          4:24.6

5. Colin Atkinson (Muckle Cycle Club)         4:30.4

6. Hugo Storey (Muckle Cycle Club) 4:36.8

Women:

1. Rachel Galler (Saint Piran) 5:27.5

2. Sarah Wilkinson (Blaydon Cycle Club)     5:29.0

3. Hannah Farran (Team Boompods)  5:33.0

4. Angela McGurk (Blaydon Cycle Club)      6:56.7