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

Photo of the day - 10: Cycle race up Winnats Pass? Maybe!

 

Photo: Neil Theasby

This beautiful stretch of road is Winnats Pass, in the Peak District. It's in a very popular area just outside the village of Castleton, with Peveril Castle nearby as well as a number of show caverns to visit. And lets not forget the numerous walking trails that lead to Mam Tor, and the highest peak, Kinder Scout. But the most noteworthy thing here for cyclists is this excruciatingly steep hill over 1km, with 25% gradients, which breaks the moral of many. It's not uncommon to see people pushing their bikes up the hill. I rode up it last year while on a ride around the Peak District, and I had to stop for a breather. That was in part due to the stress of the numerous vehicles going up the hill too. It's quite hard to manage the ride up this climb. 

The good news is that this hill has been selected for the National Hill Climb Championships at the end of October, so riders will get to ride up the hill with no vehicles given that it will be on closed roads. The bad news is that many people who would like to ride up this climb won't get the opportunity.

Therein lies the subject of a heated debate that took place on the UK Hill Climbing Facebook group today. 

Last year, almost 500 riders, including 93 women, competed on Streatley Hill, the venue for National Hill Climb Championships. This year, the authorities have limited the numbers to 300 riders. The organisers have designated 150 places to men, and in the interests to equality, 150 places to women. One guy highlighted the issues around this. His claim is that 150 places for women is a lot given that there is never that number of women entrants in any hill climb. Last year's championships had a record number of entrants - around 120. And this was after a big communications campaign and an offer to pay the entry fees of 100 women. Normally, around 50 women enter. In a non-championship hill climb race there are usually fewer than 10 women entrants. 

So on that basis, it will be hard to fill the 150 places for women, and if they are filled there will be novice women taking part, who may even end up having to push their bike up the hill! (For many women, last year's national hill climb championships was their first ever hill climb race.) Meanwhile, the 150 places allocated to men will be easily oversubscribed as much as two-fold, with some very capable men being denied a place on the grounds of them not being ranked highly enough. The man questioned if this really is equality when you will have every woman who applies, including novices, being accepted into the race while some very experienced men who have been competing in hill climbs throughout the year will not get a place.

I think this is a valid point, though unfortunately because the man mentioned that some women will be pushing their bikes up the hill this rubbed people up the wrong way, and what could have been a more level-headed discussion, descended into a slanging match with women taking offence and talking about all those historical inequalities sport, male chauvinism, women being oppressed, misogyny etc.

While I believe in equality, I do think that it is not as basic as saying 50% of the world are women, therefore allocate 50% of the places to women. I think it is important to take into account the practical implications of implementation. I think that allocating 150 places to women when there has never been that level of participation from amateur women racers in any hill climb will engender problems and also a lack of equality in the actual fibre of the competition. We could have elite/top female racers up against other women who are wheeling their bikes up the hill. In the men's race it will elite male racers against other top male racers. That's how a National Championships should be. I think that women need to show equal engagement in sport, the same as men in order to have the same number of places allocated.

 Many women choose not to take part in competitive cycling, but they will be very quick to call out sexism if there is a nominal difference in allocations between men and women. For the balance to be redressed, it is up to women to get more involved. 

My views weren't popular when I expressed them on the forum, though I say this as someone who is positive about women's sports. I have done sport since as far back as I can remember, and I have been involved in initiatives to encourage more women to get involved in sport. Therefore my views are based on my observations and discussions. I hope that over time, more women can take up hill climbing. 

And for what it's worth, I don't feel offended when someone suggests that I may end up pushing my bike up Winnats Pass. That is not an impossibility. I have had to do that a few times in the past, and if the ground is wet and I get back-wheel spin on the day of the National Championships, I may well end up doing so again!

52 Cycling Voices (in the time of coronavirus) - 31: Bithja Jones

Given the effect that coronavirus has had on sporting activities all over the world, it is not surprising that cycle racing has been affected too. A number of the national championship races didn't take place in the UK either. One event that did take place, and didn't fail to disappoint were the National Hill Climb Championships. They took place on Streatley Hill, just into the Chiltern Hills near Reading, and had a record turn-out of women. There were 110 entries and 93 women took the start line. Among them was local racer, Bithja Jones who started cycle racing a couple of years ago, and did her first hill climb race last year. With dedicated training, and help from her club Pankhurst Cycles she only went and won this year's championships, even beating the experienced hotly tipped favourite Mary Wilkinson. As an also-ran in the race who finished quite at the opposite end of the result sheet from Bithja, I was interested in talking to this single mum of two, who is also an artist, and finding out how she rolls. 

(Photo: Tim Phillips)

Bithja Jones (aka B, to her friends) aged 41

From: Kaltenkirchen (near Hamburg), Germany

Lives: Reading

Occupation: Support Assistant at a Special needs school

I have always been a keen cyclist, and cycled everywhere. I didn't get a driving licence until my son was born in 2012. As a 15-year old, when I had my first little jobs -  a paper round and then a cleaning job at a hair dressers - I saved up all that money to buy myself a decent bike. It was a Schwinn Crosspoint and I was really proud of it. My father took me and my siblings on bike packing holidays and those weeks were always very special. My longest ride was when I did a cycle tour from Germany to Croatia and back. I was 20 at the time, studying sculpture at Dresden University. 

Always cycling with the kids - even as toddlers

When my kids were in preschool, I started cycling with them. 

Then as soon as my daughter was old enough to sit on a bike seat I bought a Dutch-style Bakfiets. Like that, I could ride my bike with them and didn’t feel stuck at home. That was a great investment and it made me very happy. 

When I moved house 18 months ago, we started cycling the 4km-journey to school every morning, each of us on our own bikes. My daughter had just turned 5, and my son was 7 at that time.

I had a couple of years of running, which I loved. I enjoyed competitive events and got quite fast, coming 3rd at the Windsor 10k. But then at the end of 2018 I had to stop because of injuries. So I went to my local bike shop, Pankhurst Cycles, and bought my first proper road bike - another really good investment.

At Windsor 10k

I joined Pankhurst Cycles cycle club and started going on their weekly shop rides, recording my rides on Strava. My club mates commented on my speed and my power up hills. At first I was a bit embarrassed, because I got between 10 an 20 new Queen of the Mountains (QOMs) every time I went on a ride.  I thought my Garmin was broken, but it turned out that wasn't the case - I was just quite fast! 

Olly and Rikki from the shop supported me when I said I wanted to give track cycling a go. They prepared a bike for me, and gave some helpful tips and advice (I had never ridden a fixie before). Then after a successful track season I took part in my first hill climb race up Wittenham Clumps, near Didcot, in August 2019.

Next, I did the Reading CC double Hill climbs on Flint Hill and Streatley Hill and won both, including breaking Maryka Sennema's record on Streatley Hill in a time of 3:03.  I also raced the National Championships in Haytor Hill, Devon and came 13th.

After more training, I did the warm-up hill climb on Streatley Hill in September, run by Didcot Phoenix and Reading CC and broke the record again in 2:54. At the Nationals I went even faster. It's true I like to really immerse myself in what I do and try to do things as well as I can. 

Breaking the record on Walbury Hill
(photo: Steve Dixon)

Then nationals were definitely my biggest win so far. This has only been my second hill climb season and the Nationals this year was my 12th hill climb race.

This year's event was very different from what I had anticipated a year ago. Streatley is a short course and it would have been lined with spectators and would have been very noisy. 

I was hoping to get loads of my friends to support me and cheer me on and, of course, members of our cycling club Pankhurst Cycles which is very local. But given that there were no spectators allowed, it was great that the marshals on the course made an effort and cheered everyone on. It felt good!

I knew I had given everything on the climb, I had nothing left, and I think I also knew somehow that I had done well. I heard someone shouting ”new course record”. I couldn’t stand on my legs and I had a massive headache and quickly found a patch of grass to sit down and recover.

I knew my time quite quickly after I finished and when I heard I had done 2:47 I was very happy. It had been my goal to ride a sub 2:50. But I knew that the strongest rider, Mary Wilkinson was still to come. I had never raced against her but had heard a lot about her. Someone came over after a few minutes (maybe just 2 minutes or so after I had crossed the line) and told me that I had won. It all felt very strange and surreal, sitting there on the grass feeling awful and so happy at the same time!

At once, everyone around was very nice to me and congratulated me. I think the hill climbers are a fantastic lot. They are so friendly and welcoming and everyone cheers everyone on and every rider gets the respect they deserve. 

A hill climb is always hard. Even if you end up with the slowest time, it is still a hard effort and you get applauded for doing it and for putting in that amazing effort. And, of course, I am massively proud that I was able to keep up and even beat some amazing and experienced riders!

A very supportive environment at Pankhurst Cycles

This was such a special and fantastic event with a great atmosphere despite the difficulties of the pandemic.

Pankhurst Cycles is a very cool bike shop with very friendly people running it. They have a cycling club affiliated with the shop and organise weekly group rides and there are a handful of people racing in the track league in Reading, and a few do cyclocross races. 

They have always been very supportive and I love going there at the weekend for a coffee and just to hang around and catch up. Their support in the run-up to the Nationals this year was amazing. A friend from the club sponsored me and provided the Tifosi Mons frame that I rode this season, and Pankhurst Cycles equipped it with all the right gear for my hill climb races. Rikki Pankhurst was my supporter at most of the races this season and I didn’t have to worry about anything other than cycling up a hill as fast as possible.

The campaign run by Laura Hayley to get more women entrants was very successful. It made this year’s event very special, and seeing so many women at the Nationals was just fantastic. It would be so great to see more of that!  I hope lots of women get inspired and feel encouraged to enter events. We are getting a road bike ready for my daughter.

To get more women to participate in events there are a few things like equal prize money and separate results on the Cycling Time Trials webpage that need to be sorted. It’s a surprise really that things are so unequal still in some places, when you think about it. 

But I think it is also really important that we women encourage and motivate each other and set good examples. The press could help with that too and give the women’s event more coverage. 

To any woman who is considering doing a hill climb race I'd say just do it! If you are scared or feel intimidated, find someone to support you. Enter events together as friends, never hesitate to ask other women who are already racing. I am 100% sure they would love to help anyone with worries or concerns and would love to be helpful and supportive. I am always happy to chat if anyone has got questions. Get in touch and just do it!

Hopefully there'll track cycling in 2021

Rumours are that next year's race will be on Winnats Pass. I don’t know the hill but it looks great on Strava! I can’t wait, and will train hard, explore the course and do my best to defend my title! I am planning to do a bike packing holiday next summer and will cycle to the Peak District for some climbing practice.

I also do track cycling but because of the pandemic there were no events this year and I have only done one season since gaining my accreditation in April 2019. My first season on the track went quite well, as I became the track champion at the Reading league.

Next year, hopefully, track cycling will go ahead again. I also want to do lots of rides to the sea, get a little stronger and faster, and maybe give road racing a go if I can fit it in. I also hope I can win some hill climbs, and of course defend my title. The children and I want to fly to Hamburg to collect a tandem that is still at my sister's place. We will fit a tag-along to it and then cycle from Hamburg back home to Reading. That’s going to be our first cycling adventure holiday together.

My everyday schedule means I am quite busy, and often feel like there is not enough time to do all the things that I want to do. I am a single mum-of-two, with a full time job. I also love doing art and book illustrations and go cycling as much as I can. 

It’s a good balance though and it’s great to be able to go for an explosive quick ride after a tough day at work, or go cycling with my children. They are very passionate about cycling too, and hope to cycle around the world with me in a few years. 

Bithja's cycle-themed art

My art is often about cycling as well, so all the different areas of my life feed into each other. So I get ideas from my work for my art, or go cycling for mindful recovery time, and it all works together really well. I also cycle with my children 4km to school every morning, then cycle to work (another 6km), then do the same thing again in the afternoon. Some of my training is done on this daily commute.

Overall, my cycling is done for fun. I don’t really feel the pressure so much, but I do get nervous before a race. Mind you, I think you need that to perform well. 

With my art, it's the other way around. I feel more pressure doing a commissioned piece of art that someone is paying for, than I do for a bike race, as it has to be perfect. Having said that, I do a lot of art for myself, and I still do my best because it gives me great satisfaction and I love it!

When I first arrived in the UK 12 years ago I was terrified of cycling on the roads, but now I find it a lot easier.  I don’t know whether cycling has improved or maybe I have just got used to it. 

Reading is not bad for cycling. There is the cycle path along the River Thames, which I use a lot with the kids, and lots of short cuts where you can avoid the major roads and the traffic. Also I just love the countryside around Reading. The Chilterns and the North Wessex Downs are beautiful, and on a long ride you can cycle to the South coast and back.

At work in Pankhurst Cycles

Overall, I think it’s much more common in Germany to use a bike as a means of transport than in the UK. Therefore there are more cyclists on the road, and the awareness for cyclists by motorists is much better. The road surfaces are a lot nicer as well. Schools have large bike parking areas as most students ride to school on their bikes.

Dealing with the Covid pandemic has not been easy. I live in a small flat with my kids and we haven’t got a garden. We are all outdoorsy people, so it is hard to deal with, but you just have to get on with it and make it work. 

The pre-school I was working in closed down for good partly due to the pandemic, so I lost my job there. I continued my other job, working two days a week at Pankhurst Cycles but it was not an easy time. 

Luckily, I found a new job in a school for children with special needs and I absolutely love my work. But sadly, this new job didn’t leave me enough time to carry on with my work in the bike shop.

When it comes to favourite places to cycle - I went on a cycling holiday in the Alps in the Summer 2019 and that was brilliant. I really want to go back again. Slovenia is also a very beautiful place to cycle through, and there are so many places I haven’t explored yet, even quite close here in Britain. I hope my children’s passion for cycling will carry on and we can go do our round-the-world trip, exploring many new places together.  

My favourite person to cycle with is someone a tiny bit stronger and faster than me so I have to work hard to keep up. I just like pushing myself! For a long tour I would like to go with my sister, Sarah. We haven’t been on a bike ride together for many years but we did lots of bike packing tours together in the past and we would get on very well. She visited me here in England last year when I won on Streatley Hill the first time. It was great to see her here and to have her support.

Self-portrait

Bithja Moor Illustrations: 

http://www.bithjamoor.net

Facebook: 

www.facebook.com/bithjamoor

Bithja on Strava: 

https://www.strava.com/athletes/bithja_jones

Pankhurst Cycles: 

https://www.pankhurstcycles.co.uk/

Other Cycling Voices

Claire Floret

Adeline Moreau

Janet Birkmyre

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Jenni Gwiazdowski

Gemma Fernandez

Tracey Moseley

Geraldine Glowinski

Hannah Bussey

Carolyn Hewett-Maessen

Caroline Martinez

Maria David

Photo of the day - 26: Still buzzing from the hill climbs

Grit and determination on Streatley Hill [photo: Tim Phillips]

Still feeling on a high after the National Hill Climb Championships, I was keen to look at the different websites and see how much coverage the championships got. Considering that it was just an 800m cycle race there was a lot of coverage. I am not sure if this is the usual amount of coverage the event gets, or if the media had gone to town because this was one of only a handful of races that could take place under the current circumstances. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. There were also a lot of photographers out and about, and for the first time in a ages I have seen various photos of myself in racing action on different social media feeds. I particularly like this one because it shows my sheer determination, and how I was just focussed on the hill ahead of me.

I have now joined the Hill Climb group on facebook, so I can hear more about hill climb events and such related things. Funnily enough, there is already talk of where the championships will be held next year. The rumour seems to be Winnats Pass, in the Peak District. If the championships really are happening there I will need to start training now. Winnats is the toughest climb I have managed to ride up, and is right on the limit of my capabilities. I don't now how many riders are capable of riding up at race pace and out of the saddle. I definitely among those who can't! Neverthless, I have developed a taste for this, and I look forward to doing more climbs including the Forest Bowland, the Magnificent 7 on the outskirts of Sheffield, and Winnats Pass.

Photo of the day - 25: National Hill Climb Championships - over (the hill) and out!

National Hill Climb Champs souvenir - There was a brownie too, but that disappeared quickly!

Who would have thought I'd be doing a National Championships cycling race, let alone this year! Yes, I did the National Hill Climb Championships on Streatley Hill, near Reading today. With the year being as it's been I was just keen to make the most of any racing that was going on, as I realise that there's nothing that beats pinning a number on and getting into the thick of a competition - even if you're not in contention to win. There is still an adrenaline rush as you try to be the best you can be and chase down your nearest rivals. In these Covid times of social distancing, time trialling is probably the most socially distanced sort of cycle racing you can do. So that has been taking place, albeit with a reduced calendar. So I did one or two of those, and then I signed up for some hill climbs not too far from home. I did a couple around the South Downs - up Steyning Bostal, Firle Beacon, and Mill Hill. I also went further afield to Bank Road in Matlock. I had hoped to do the really excruciating Riber Castle on that same day, but that was full - what a shame!

The National Hill Climbing Championships take place in various parts of the country - from down towards Cornwall and Devon, to up in Northumberland. Having them in the South-East of England was comparatively local for me, so it would have been rude not to go! I actually missed the deadline for entry and had to contact the organisers to see if they could let me in under the wire. Luckily that was possible, so I was able to line up with around 100 other women. This year's competition was noteworthy for the number of female competitors. A campaign had taken place to get 100 women to sign up, and it seems that many people answered the call. That is great to see. For me, I guess The campaign did not necessarily influence my decision to take part, but I guess it meant that I would be less likely to come last given that I have been no stranger to doing races where I was one of only around 5 or 6 women, and I was the weakest link! 

My aim today was just to execute my race as I had predicted in my rough analysis. Based on my results I should finish between 2 minutes 30s and 3 minutes behind the winning woman. Streatley Hill is half a mile long with an average gradient of 13% and a short stretch at 25%. It is less steep in the first 50 metres. Then from there on, it becomes very steep on a bend, then moderately steep, and then after another bend it becomes even steeper before flattening off at the end. The profile was similar to Bank Road, which I had done the previous week, though longer and marginally less savage. I also did a very quick recon of the climb en route to the road race I did yesterday in Abingdon On the basis of my analysis I thought I would do around 5 mins 30. I decided that even if that meant I would come last I wouldn't mind as long as I did the race as I had planned it. I kept focused, did what I had planned and managed 5 minutes 27s, finishing in 90th place out of 93 competitors. The winner, Bithja Jones, did 2 mins 47. That was a record as previous results had shown winners (including when she raced it a month ago) having done 3 mins 5s. 

I was pleased with my result as I gave my best and really left it along with dribbling, snot and sweat on the road. It was a good event, with all the fan fare of a National Championships, compared with other events where the HQ was sometimes just the boot of someone's car in a remote car park. It was great to bump into other competitors that I had seen at other races. There were no airs and graces between the fastest and the slowest. Even though spectators weren't allowed, there were enough marshals, officials and photographers on the hill to shout encouragement and ring cow bells at us. Sadly, I couldn't acknowledge them or say anything back, given that I was otherwise occupied! It was painful at the time, but when I look back at the event I am glad I did it, and have definitely got the bug for this sort of thing.

So, that's the hill climbing season over. Thanks to Christina Gustafson and her team at Reading Cycling Club for putting on this great race. Also thanks to all the other organisers plus the Cycling Times Trials association for putting on the races particularly during this testing (pardon the pun) season. Looking forward to next season!