Coming Soon: Hill Climb Championships

Over 400 riders already registered for the national hill climb championships which comes to “the struggle” for the first time ever on 29 october – the annual event which raises funds for the great north air ambulance will host the sport’s national title this autumn

Coming Soon: Hill Climb Championships

The Event will be held on 29 October 2023 on the closed road from Ambleside to the Kirkstone Pass Inn at the top of The Struggle, North-East of Ambleside. The road will be closed from 0800 until 1330 and the first of the 400+ riders will be set off at 30 second intervals from 9.01am. The last rider is expected to finish around 1.00pm.

Photo: Ellen Isherwood

HQ for the event will be the University of Cumbria site in Ambleside at the Barn, Rydal Rd, Ambleside LA22 9BB and the organisers would like to thank the University for its continued support.

Event details can be found here: https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/race-details/24745 and is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors and the iconic local brands, Wheelbase Cycles and Romney’s Kendal Mint Cake together with prizes donated by Wahoo, Voom Nutrition and Fell Brewery. The event is only possible because of the volunteers and helpers from The Lakes Road and Barrow Central Wheelers cycling clubs.

The most important aspect of this annual event for Organiser, Jack Talbot of the Lakes Road Cycling Club, is that it raises funds for the Great North Air Ambulance. In 2017, Mr Talbot suffered horrific injuries after being the victim of a hit-and-run while out on his bike in Ulverston. GNAAS was called upon and flew him to Royal Preston Hospital. He spent 13 days in a coma and a total of five weeks in hospital, but eventually made a miraculous recovery.

Jack said “the Struggle Hill Climb has become an iconic fixture in the UK’s Hill Climb calendar already and I am honoured that we have been selected to host the Nationals in only our fourth year, but the most important aspect for me is that the added entries and attention will allow us to raise vastly more funds for GNAAS. With a month to go to the race, this year’s edition has already guaranteed over £8,000 for the Choppers!”

For the first time, this year The Struggle will be hosting the RTTC National Hill Climb Championship. The race will see the premier elite hill climbers in the thriving UK scene competing for the honour of being National Champion and the red/white/blue striped jersey that is the exclusive right of the Champion to wear for the following year’s hill climbing season. Last year’s defending champions Andrew Feather and Illi Gardner (Wahoo Endurance Zone) will face stiff competition to defend their titles on this iconic Lake District course.

The 2.67 mile long course features three savage pitches of over 20% gradients and includes a total of 1,175ft of ascent. The course record is held by Ed Laverack at 12 minutes and 29 seconds with the women’s record standing at 15 minutes exactly from Gardner’s recce of the segment in early September this year.

This popular local hill climb event has previously run in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and has attracted large crowds of supporters and passers-by at the summit of The Struggle where a cacophonous noise of cowbells, horns and cheers greets each rider as they toil through their final efforts to the finish line. Spectators are thoroughly encouraged and welcomed – the organisers recommend bringing pots, pans, drums, bells and frankly anything that can make a noise to encourage all the riders and wrapping up warm to deal with the likely conditions in October on the Struggle. There will be limited parking at the finish line. Visitors are encouraged to plan ahead.

Entries are open until midnight on 10 October and the organisers would like to particularly encourage women and junior entrants as these fields still have guaranteed protected entries available at time of writing:

Riders can enter here: https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/race-details/24745#anchor