Winning on Winnats (Part 7): Maddie Heywood on the National Hill Climb Championships

On the eve of the National Hill Climb Championships at Winnats Pass we hear from Maddie Heywood (Team Watto), who is now doing her third Nationals and has steadily climbed in the rankings each time. She went from 16th on Haytor Vale (2019) to 7th on Streatley Hill (2020). Maybe tomorrow could see the Londoner end up on the podium.

Maddie at the 2020 Nationals on Streatley Hill (photo: Tim Phillips) 

"I feel so lucky in the UK that we have such an incredible hill climb community. This year, being a part of the UK hill climbing season, making new friends and having friendly chats on start lines and finish lines I have really grown to love not just attacking hills, but the entirety of the event. Being around like-minded individuals and being able to share our passion for brutality and also the desire for shiny light bike parts has given me a new lease of life.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am very competitive and a strong lover of hills. I particularly like steep ones (as that’s what I am good at), with minimum flat bits, so I am very excited about the hill being on Winnats Pass this year.

What I am less excited about is the never-ending cold I picked up during my triple hill climb weekend: double header (Chippenham and Severn) [Bowden Hill and Hinton Hill respectively] on Saturday, followed by Monsal Head on Sunday.

I had a go at the Nationals back in 2019 up Haytor Vale. I learned a lot from this race, such as to sort mechanicals out before the day of the race as I was stuck in the small ring on my road bike which wasn’t ideal for such a varying hill. I also later learned that a 2-hour ride to the start and smashing up the long hill as a warmup wasn’t the best prep. 

Last year at Streatley I learned a few more lessons such as don’t try new wheels on race day (wheelspin galore) and don’t try rollers for the first time on overgrown grass.

In terms of actual climbs – I think I am very suited to Winnats Pass as you have more time in vo2 max territory and I also do better on steep sections of hills as I am a ‘true’ climber and, for now, quite under optimised on the flat. Haytor Vale felt more like a time trial effort than a hill climb, and Streatley was great but a little on the short side of things for me.

This season I signed up for a hill climb training plan with Becky Hair and Natalie Creswick. This included turbo sessions, strength and conditioning, and webinars on race prep and confidence etc. I have absolutely loved being a part of this. 

The way Becky and Natalie have helped us prepare mentally for the race has been incredible, including using mantras, and planning for the things you can control on race day and fully documenting those things you can’t control and trying to find some peace with that. Anyway, I won’t give away any more of their amazing tips but it has been incredible to have their support at this time.

I have also been coached by my partner Daryl Maffey, who has used the sessions created by Natalie and Becky as a base and adapted these, structuring them around my menstrual cycle. He ensures I get sufficient rest to shift enough fatigue after my first season of road and crit racing for the new ladies’ team (Team Watto-LDN) and obtained my Cat 2 license in July.

But oh my, the competition is fiercer than ever! This year we see the reigning National Champion Bithja Jones go up against Mary Wilkinson who favours slightly longer hills. Rivalling those two is Illi Gardner who has also been taking course records by huge margins this season and absolutely stunning competitors and spectators. Rebecca Richardson is also on the startlist, so it is going to be quite a battle for the podium.

Joanna Blackburn and Frances Owen, both incredible time trialists and quite new to hill climbs have absolutely owned this season. Then there is Becky Hair and Jessica Evans who I am somewhat evenly matched to. Jamie-Lee Wright has also taken some incredible course records this season in Guernsey and is one to watch.

This season has seen fewer women’s entrants in hill climb races overall, due to the road race season being extended which has been a bit of a shame. However, year on year, it is amazing to see the attitude to women’s cycling improve with equal prize money becoming the norm. 

I know most people that sign up to hill climbs don’t do it for the money but it’s the impression it gives, and I am excited to see the day when it is equal in all aspects of women’s racing. I really think hill climbing has led the way here."

[Maddie sets off from the cattle grid near Speedwell Cavern at 10.26:30 seconds am on Sunday 31^st October] 

Related posts

Winning on Winnats (Part 6): Illi Gardner and Vikki Filsell on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 5): Becky Hair on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 4): Frances Owen on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 3): Rebecca Richardson on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 2): Mary Wilkinson on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 1): Bithja Jones on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 6): Illi Gardner and Vikki Filsell on the National Hill Climb Championships

 As we head towards the big day in which we find out who will be the inaugural Queen of Winnats Pass at the National Hill Climb Championships we hear from one of the youngest competitors in the women's senior race, and one of the older competitors 

22-year old Illi Gardner (CAMS Racing) is a hot contender for the overall crown. Having recently broken the world Everesting Record by riding up the formidable Bwlch Y Groes 72 times, the Wales-based rider will have nothing to fear on Winnats Pass. 

Meanwhile Vikki Filsell, who races for the Surrey-based all-women cycling club BellaVello CC, was in the mix of fast Vets on Streatley Hill, in her maiden season last year. This year she is hoping to build on her solid performance.

Illi Gardner (CAMS Racing)

World Everesting record holder, Illi Gardner (photo: Paul Gardner)

"This has been my first proper hill climb season as I also race on the road which is at the same time. This year I was really keen to do more hill climbs, so mixed it in with the end of the road season. I was hoping to attend the Nationals in 2020 but unfortunately couldn't due to lockdown restrictions in Wales, so these will be my first Nationals.

All the hill climbs have been really fun but I think the Porlock Hill Climb [Exmoor] and the University of Bristol hill climb [Belmont Hill] were my favourites, even though they were kind of opposites being the longest and shortest ones at ~17mins and ~3mins respectively.

I think racing on Winnats Pass is going to be special as it's such a unique, well-known climb that hasn't been raced on in so many years. I'm looking forward to the atmosphere. I rode up it for the first time earlier this year (in the snow), then again last weekend. I'd forgotten how brutal it is! My favourite kind of hills are steep ones, which Winnats certainly is; I usually prefer long grinds rather than short punchy climbs but I'm really excited to give it a go.

Everesting is such a different effort from all-out hill climbs but it definitely cemented my love for climbing, my motivation to get involved in more hill climbs, and maybe increased my pain tolerance too!

I beat Bithja Jones earlier in the season [on Bowden Hill], but it still doesn’t give me much confidence at all.... anything can happen on the day."

[Illi sets off from the cattle grid near Speedwell Cavern at 10.28:30 seconds am on Sunday 31^st October]

 

Vikki Filsell (BellaVelo CC)

Photo: Vikki Filsell

"I am very excited (and grateful) to have the opportunity to race on Sunday. I’m not a contender, as such, but hope to do well in the over 50s category.

I visited the area in the summer and found the Winnats climb super-hard and extremely full of cars. It will be amazing to ride up it ‘traffic-free’. I think I’m ready for the windy and wet conditions, having cycled outside quite a lot recently. Training has been going well for both hill climbs and cross-country running. I try to combine the two disciplines and quite enjoy the challenging conditions.

I’ve tried two new hill climbs (for me) this season: Catford and Bec. They were my first experience of the wall of sound from the spectators. It was deafening and inspiring! Gary Beckett knows which climb I enjoyed the most (and wasn’t happy!)

There is a large womens’ field this year but not quite so large as last year. I have a prediction for the womens’ race winner for 2021 but will keep it to myself!"

[Vikki sets off from the cattle grid near Speedwell Cavern at 10.07:30 seconds am on Sunday 31^st October] 

Related posts

Winning on Winnats (Part 5): Becky Hair on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 4): Frances Owen on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 3): Rebecca Richardson on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 2): Mary Wilkinson on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 1): Bithja Jones on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 3): Rebecca Richardson on the National Hill Climb Championships

In my mini series on women's thoughts on contesting the National Hill Climb Championships on the iconic Winnats Pass (Peak District) for the first time in history, we focus on Rebecca Richardson. The Brother UK racer has had podium success in the past at the UK Hill Climb Championships, when she was third on Haytor Vale in 2019. Based in mid-Wales, Rebecca was unable to compete in 2020. But this year the reigning Welsh Hill Climb Champion is back, and will see if she could add to her hill climbing palmarès.  

Rebecca at Monsal Head hill climb (photo: Anthony Wood)

"Last year was a bit of a wet blanket because a week before the Nationals the Welsh Government changed its mind about where we could go [because of the Covid pandemic], so being based in mid-Wales I didn't get to race on Streatley Hill.

So I’m pretty excited about the National Championships on Sunday, and pretty relaxed. I know that I’m in the mix in terms of maybe the top 10 hill climbers but this year is competitive. The level’s really gone up. What’s great about the women’s field now is that as it gets bigger you get more specialists. We know in the men’s fields certain riders go better over a short distance, and  some go better over a long climb. In the women’s field we’ve never had that depth and breadth of field in the past, but this year we have. We’re getting some consistent women in the sport, and then when you add in new women we are starting to see this range.

A climb like Mam Nick suits me. It’s about 7.5 minutes long for women. Anything that’s sort of 5-7 minutes or 7-10 minutes is more my cup of tea.

Mam Nick has been my favourite race this season, where I broke the course record. It’s a climb that, for a couple of years my friends had been saying I should go for, and I really wanted the course record off Lizzy Banks. It’s a really beautiful, iconic climb. When I did the hill climb I put in the best 7-minute power. A minute from the end I was numb with my head down, and I was really in a place I’d never been, physically. My sight was blurring – basically all the oxygen from my brain was going! 

I was really glad to get the record, especially after the disappointment at Monsal Head where I had a massive wheel-slip and lost power. I picked back up at the end, and when I got to the top I was like aaargh! With the field of riders there, I thought I wouldn't even get a podium place. So when I found out I was third, it was a surprise. Looking at the pacing on Strava, I was actually ahead of Mary [Wilkinson], when I had the wheel-slip. I was actually in line with Bithja [Jones], so I know my result could have been a lot better. 

Winnats Pass is not my kind of climb. If you talk to people like Bithja, Mary, Illa [Gardner] and Frances Owen they will say that they love anything that’s steep. Well, I’m the total opposite! Everyone who knows me, knows how much I go backwards when it gets really steep. It’s like when I get out of the saddle my body just doesn’t propel forwards like everybody else!

My partner Rick, lives about 30 minutes away from Winnats so we rode it with Lizzy Banks. We did a ride for the Cycling Podcast tech channel, doing a full gas effort about a month and a half ago. We worked out the gearing, and then I went back and did another full gas effort last week, and we’ve changed all of my bike gearing since.

I was back there on Tuesday this week, because I could see that the weather on Tuesday was looking pretty similar to what we’re going to get on Sunday. The thing about Winnats is that it completely changes with the wind. It’s like a gulley which faces the prevailing wind. When it's windy you get down draughts which are really really gusty. 

On Tuesday we had 28mph South-Westerly gusts and in the gorge in Winnats, on the actual climb, I had to get off my bike. I couldn’t physically ride up it because it was so scary. I had to walk down and my bike was getting pulled out of my arms by the wind. It was flying in the air like a kite! Then a walker in front of me fell over from the wind. 

If the weather is like that on Sunday it’s going to be really interesting. It will be just a case of who can actually get up it. I said that I don’t think I’m a contender but if the weather is anything like Tuesday, I think the advantage of being able to stay in the saddle will make the difference. So I’m going in prepared for the worst, basically. I'd rather have attritional conditions, as that might give me a chance!

In terms of bike set-up I’ve got a really special bike which was created by my partner and his business partner. They have a company called DreamBuild, and have a You Tube channel where they film dream builds – pro bikes, latest bike releases, and they work with manufacturers on projects. So my bike is one of their projects. It’s the S-Works Aethos that has string wheels and everything’s been geared towards being really lightweight. It’s their lightest frame and is around 700g. The whole bike is 4.7kg including disc brakes. Maybe it's really the wrong bike for the wind. I think for those conditions you might just want an old winter bike, or even a mountain bike!

Rebecca's S-Works Aethos as featured in Cycling Weekly

I think realistically, based on all my recons at Winnats, I am not going to be on the podium. But in my mind, that won’t be a failure because the success for me is that there are so many women now who are up there, and to be on the podium you have now got to be in top form, and a notch above. 

It is now like how the men have had to compete for several years. When you see 75 senior women and a full field of junior women – they’re talking about over 100 women - and you can’t even say whether you’re necessarily going to be in the top 10 because there are so many potential top 10 hill climbers, that’s really exciting. 

Even Cycling Weekly magazine recently featured three women hill climbers. They had a story about The Rake, with Mary [Wilkinson] leading the article, a profile on Bithja [Jones], and in the tech section they had my bike. So women’s hill climbing has become so exciting and unpredictable. People are talking about Bithja and Mary, but Illi has beaten Bithja this year. I personally think it will be between Mary and Illi. I think Winnats is too long for Bithja.

I’m really excited for Sunday,  because every time you go up Winnats normally, the traffic is so horrible, and I know the organisers have been working for about two years with the council to get this venue and have closed roads.

This is a unique chance, and because it’s a natural amphitheatre and quite short we’re hopefully going to get some brilliant crowds. They had the Nationals on Bank Road in Matlock in 2016, where I raced in what was my first open hill climb, and the crowds blew my mind; it was like the Tour de France. I can only imagine Winnats is going to be like that." 

[Rebecca sets off from the cattle grid near Speedwell Cavern at 10.28am on Sunday 31st October]

Related posts

Winning on Winnats (Part 2): Mary Wilkinson on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 1): Bithja Jones on the National Hill Climb Championships

Winning on Winnats (Part 1): Bithja Jones on the National Hill Climb Championships

Excitement is mounting as riders gear up (or even down!) for the National Hill Climb Championships this year at Winnats Pass. 

This hill, set in a natural amphitheatre in the Derbyshire Peak District, near Castleton, will be the scene for the heroes testing themselves, straining every sinew to battle up the 25% gradient as fast as is humanly possible over 1km. 

There will be some exciting contests to be had on the slopes of this infamous climb, which was last the venue for a national hill climb race in 1977, long before many of the competitors were born.  

In the men's competition the likes of Tom Bell and Andrew Feather have taken turns to get the better of each other in individual battles throughout the season, though previous winners like Adam Kenway, Ed Laverack, or Dan Evans could throw in a surprise on the day. So we wait with baited breath to see who will prevail in the War of Winnats Pass. 

Meanwhile, the 70+-strong women's field will not be a totally clear-cut affair either. Defending Champion Bithja Jones (Pankhurst Cycles) could be the bookies favourite, given the numerous wins and course records achieved by the Reading-based rider. She again, beat arch-rival and last year's runner up, Mary Wilkinson on Monsal Head earlier this month. But maybe local knowledge may play a decisive role, and northern-based riders like Wilkinson, plus Macclesfield's Monica Greenwood could edge ahead. In addition, one rider, Illi Gardner has managed to get the better of Jones this season, when the 22-year old World Everesting record holder was the fastest woman up Bowden Hill Climb, near Chippenham in early October.

Over the coming days we will hear the thoughts from some of the competitors.

Here is what defending Champion Bithja Jones has to say:

Bithja storming to a win at Monsal Head in October (Photo by Anthony Wood)

"It’s very exciting. I’m not thinking about it too much or else I’ll get really nervous, but it’s always good because it means I usually perform better when I’m nervous.

I've been up Winnats Pass three times. The first time I went up it I thought, 'I will go easy just to check it out – go in a low gear and just spin up' but you can’t do that on a road bike. There’s no easy way up it. Even in your lowest gear it’s hard work. It’s really really steep - a proper power climb, though quite long for a power climb.

It’s totally different from Streatley Hill, last year, and I will definitely take more time than up Streatley. I do really well on the short steep climbs, so in terms of the steepness it suits me. But in terms of length, it’s maybe just a tiny bit long. But we’ll see how I go.

Somewhere like Monsal Head, where I did really well this year, is probably my perfect climb. I was sad that I missed the Bec and Catford Hill Climbs because I was suffering from a really bad cold, and they would have probably been really good for me because they are very steep and a bit shorter than Winnats. 

I didn't race last weekend because I wanted to make sure I could be prepared for Winnats. In the first couple of weeks in October I had a cold and had to take it easy, but I am now better, just in time for the Nationals.

It’s so special to race on such an iconic climb for the first time in 44 years, and I am so so chuffed that I will be a scratch rider on Winnats Pass. That’s just amazing.

I'm looking forward to having spectators too. I raced up Haytor for the Nationals in 2019, but because it is such a long long climb the spectators were spread out a lot. Then the following year the spectators were mainly the marshalls because of Covid. This year, Monsal was amazing and Leith Hill too. Having spectators makes a massive difference and definitely makes me go a few seconds faster, I think.

Monsal was brilliant. It was absolutely amazing. There were barriers on the last quarter of the course, so people were standing in rows, even four deep. There was a massive noise. It was amazing, with the most people at the top, but by then it was all a bit of a blur for me! I loved it so much.

I have won nearly all of my hill climbs this season. I came second at one in Chippenham. It was really icy cold and so wet, and I felt cold during my warm-up. I was freezing cold when I got to the start line and felt really rubbish. Illi Gardner won that one, and she’s a really strong rider to look out for anyway; she will be one of the main contenders at Winnats, I’m sure. She’s amazing. Apart from that race, I have won all my races and set new course records on almost all of them as well.

My training this year has been so different. Last year I just did everything on my own and just went cycling, and rode up a few hills. This year is different. A friend of mine asked me if I would consider having a coach. I thought maybe I should try it because last year I proved that you can do well without a coach. But this year I wanted to see how far I could get if I got professional coaching. 

So I am now being coached by Matt Clinton who was national hill climb champion in 2008, and a podium finisher in the national hill climb championships eight times in a row.  So he’s been training me for the last four months. I am doing intervals on the turbo now, and I’ve got a power meter - all the things that I didn’t have last year. 

It has made a massive difference and I’ve actually learned to like it as well. At first I didn’t like riding the turbo trainer, but now it’s fun. I’ve never worked as hard on my bike as I have done in the last four months on my turbo trainer. If it didn’t make a difference I would have been hugely disappointed and I would never find a coach again. 

Coaching does makes a difference. It has helped me finđ my potential I guess, so you can go that bit further if you have someone who knows exactly what you need, to train for a hill climb.

My bike is a very nice Tifosi Mons hill climb racing bike, and my amazing, committed mechanic, Rikki Pankhurst at Pankhurst Cycles (in Pangbourne) is always working on it between races to make sure everything is all right, and he is finding bits where he could save yet another few grams. He will be chopping off the drops, as I won’t need them on Winnats. He’s got a few more ideas where he can save a bit of weight and have it ready for the Nationals. So he’s very amazing there. At Pankhurst Cycles they are always supporting me, taking me to the races and making sure the bike is absolutely race ready before the start.

At the moment the bike weighs 5.8 kg. It’s heavier than some of the bikes of my competitors, but you have to get it right for what suits you. If you go for too light a bike, sometimes it gets a bit flexed and then you lose power in the end. You need it to be light, but also stiff. I’m really happy with the bike as it is at the moment.

I will have to be ready for damp conditions, given that you are out of the saddle most of the time because of the nature of the climb. However, for whatever reason I have never had any real trouble with wheelspin so far, even in the races where others were struggling. What you can do is to adjust the tyre pressure, and then maybe it’s technique as well, where you put your body weight on the bike as you are cycling up. 

Also Winnats, at least hasn’t got any trees, so you won’t have damp leaves to deal with. We’ll see how it goes, but the conditions will be the same for everyone. So we will all have the same problems to tackle, I guess.

Monsal Head podium (L-R) Mary Wilkinson, Bithja, 
and Rebecca Richardson (photo:Anthony Wood)

Thanks to the massive campaign last year, I think women’s hill climbing has become so much more exciting and so strong. Everyone in the field has stepped up, and I’ve definitely stepped up in my training - and so have my competitors. We will have an even stronger competition this year. 

Mary Wilkinson is in top form this year, and there's also Rebecca Richardson, Joanna Blackburn, Monica Greenwood. You never know how things will go. The hill will suit some people better, and there may be some surprises. It’s down to the form on the day, though I think it will be very very close. It will be exciting.

My seven-year old daughter Frieda did her first hill climb two weeks ago. It was 1.5km up Belmont Hill in Bristol. She enjoyed it, but she was exhausted. My son, Jerome has just started track cycling. 

I think they are inspired by me, but they have also got a little bit used to me hill climbing and so they expect me to win everything! I have not really disappointed them, I hope. But I think that day will come. I am getting older and my competitors are younger and younger – Illi Gardner is half my age! But at the moment it’s going well. 

I think it will be an amazing atmosphere at the Nationals, especially with the way Winnats Pass is set up on these steep banks at the side, like an amphitheatre. It will be such a big party."

[Bithja sets off from the cattle grid near Speedwell Cavern at 10.30 am on Sunday 31st October]

Related posts

52 Cycling Voices - Bithja Jones

The pain of hill climbs

National Hill Climb Championships - over and out