The 2024 National Hill Climb, promoted by Muckle CC, is held on Dipton Mill Road, in Hexham. Located just on the outskirts of the town centre, the season pinnacle promised and delivered huge crowds. What a day it was.
Without meaning to be overly harsh, the climb is pretty anonymous. It's a solid hill for a hill climb, but misses the grandeur of previous years. I do not mean this in a bad way. It's special in it's own way. It's a hard, classic hill, with variable gradients and importantly, it's dead straight. You can see the person in front suffering where you will be in 30 seconds time.
Due to a landslide, the original venue of Prospect Hill was ruled out and Dipton Mill took it's place. For me, this was a change for the good. A slightly steeper, longer climb satiated my requirements and the locality of the climb to the town centre was a big boon. It helps with everyone's transport, accommodation and just general quality of life improvement.
Back to the climb, it starts steady, with the first 200m at 8%, then continues at 10% for the next 400m. It gets spicy once you hit 600m to go and there are 3 ramps to the line which if you get wrong will cost you. In all, it's 1200m of 10% with an easy start and a tricky finish.
Without meaning to be overly harsh, the climb is pretty anonymous. It's a solid hill for a hill climb, but misses the grandeur of previous years. I do not mean this in a bad way. It's special in it's own way. It's a hard, classic hill, with variable gradients and importantly, it's dead straight. You can see the person in front suffering where you will be in 30 seconds time.
Due to a landslide, the original venue of Prospect Hill was ruled out and Dipton Mill took it's place. For me, this was a change for the good. A slightly steeper, longer climb satiated my requirements and the locality of the climb to the town centre was a big boon. It helps with everyone's transport, accommodation and just general quality of life improvement.
Back to the climb, it starts steady, with the first 200m at 8%, then continues at 10% for the next 400m. It gets spicy once you hit 600m to go and there are 3 ramps to the line which if you get wrong will cost you. In all, it's 1200m of 10% with an easy start and a tricky finish.
2024 National Championships
The curse is broken. Over the years I've been a moderately successful hill climber but something always seems to go wrong at nationals. The only years I was fully issue free was back I'm 2018 and 2020 when I was 11th and 7th respectively. Finally after 3 somewhat catastrophic nationals in a row, the Buzzard is back!
It basically went as well as I could have hoped. I was just so happy that I turned up on the day and actually did a good ride. I'd nailed my form without burning out and was at that perfect race weight where my abs form some definition but I'm not malnourished with an underlying fatigue affecting day to day life.
On the run up, I'd had four podiums but no wins or anything truly exceptional from me. I'd even had a slightly disappointing 6th on the Rake, despite going a second faster than the previous year. I'd taken the final weekend before nationals off racing, purely to keep my head clear and enjoy riding my bike with no pressure. Ella and I also went to an extremely well timed wedding which was lovely.
The morning, whilst delightfully sunny, in a way only those autumnal days are, dragged with the anticipation. There's only so long one can lie in bed, running through the climb over and over before insanity. I'd run it through so much I knew it more than the hotel bed I was lying in. But how much would I rather sleep than climb?
The 12pm hotel checkout ended any existentialism I had, and forced the routine warm up in the charming sun. I caught up with both Archie and Eugene Cross who had been in the morning session. They assuaged some concerns I had and it was nice to experience it vicariously.
Once warm, I rolled to the start and met the other favourites starting seconds behind me. A few calming words with Captain Andy and I was ready to go. Like a blinded horse, I entered the starting gates and began to shake. I hadn't quite realised how nervous I was until then. My heart was pounding and hands waivering, but all it took was a little comment to the holder admiring his impressive moustache to get me focussed.
I inhaled hard and as the timer tocked down and was released. My plan was to get to speed then have a casual first 30s. The climb starts steadily and I didn't want to waste my limited beans here. Eventually, I decided that was enough and as the road started to steepen I ramped up the effort.
It was serene carving my way up. In what felt like a compilation of the entire season, I saw familiar faces line the road. My dad at the halfway mark, giving me a hell of a scream and that one extra gear.
As the crowds massed towards the top, the pressure on my body was building, but I had more to give. I was on a good day and it was going well. On my recce the previous day, I'd noted the 30mph painted signs making it 600m to go. That was my cue to let it rip. I wanted to hold a light gear and just spin spin spin out of the saddle to the line. Once I hit 400m to go the crowds were something else. It was now beggining to bite, yet I had more to give. As I heard the screams from my Mum and Ella, I blitzed it up. I didn't fade and held on through the mass to cross the line.
I'd done it. I finished without any issues and genuinely had a good ride. It was my best performance of the season, I actually couldn't have done more and I was content with whatever place that made me.
I got to watch the last 10 "big dogs" cross the line and most staggering was Harry McFarlane. He was lightning across the last 100m. I gave Kieran Wynne-Cattanach a roaring cheer as he crossed before Andrew Feather obliterated it across the line. It was clearly less than 30s behind KWC, so he had not won but had he beat Harry?
A couple of seconds later it was announced that he had not, and Harry took his first national hill climb! It was impressive, in the end, he went 15s faster than me. Somewhere between half and 1 W/kg more. Massive congratulations to everyone, once again it was a hell of a day and all credit to Muckle CC. My family said it was their favourite nationals!
There are so many little stories form the day but I can't post without congratulatibg Marcus Cram on his poetic stuzzing. I've beaten him twice this year by 0.1s and 0.2s, so for him to beat me by 0.17s on nationals was a poetic end to our battle.
7th or 8th! I'm still slightly unsure of my official placing. On the printed final results at the HQ, I was given a time of 3:24.00, placing me 7th. However, the live timing results, ties me with Ben Millar at 3:24 but the current CTT results gives me a time of 3:24.37 placing me 8th! So I'm one or the other but massively inside the top 10.
It basically went as well as I could have hoped. I was just so happy that I turned up on the day and actually did a good ride. I'd nailed my form without burning out and was at that perfect race weight where my abs form some definition but I'm not malnourished with an underlying fatigue affecting day to day life.
On the run up, I'd had four podiums but no wins or anything truly exceptional from me. I'd even had a slightly disappointing 6th on the Rake, despite going a second faster than the previous year. I'd taken the final weekend before nationals off racing, purely to keep my head clear and enjoy riding my bike with no pressure. Ella and I also went to an extremely well timed wedding which was lovely.
The morning, whilst delightfully sunny, in a way only those autumnal days are, dragged with the anticipation. There's only so long one can lie in bed, running through the climb over and over before insanity. I'd run it through so much I knew it more than the hotel bed I was lying in. But how much would I rather sleep than climb?
The 12pm hotel checkout ended any existentialism I had, and forced the routine warm up in the charming sun. I caught up with both Archie and Eugene Cross who had been in the morning session. They assuaged some concerns I had and it was nice to experience it vicariously.
Once warm, I rolled to the start and met the other favourites starting seconds behind me. A few calming words with Captain Andy and I was ready to go. Like a blinded horse, I entered the starting gates and began to shake. I hadn't quite realised how nervous I was until then. My heart was pounding and hands waivering, but all it took was a little comment to the holder admiring his impressive moustache to get me focussed.
I inhaled hard and as the timer tocked down and was released. My plan was to get to speed then have a casual first 30s. The climb starts steadily and I didn't want to waste my limited beans here. Eventually, I decided that was enough and as the road started to steepen I ramped up the effort.
It was serene carving my way up. In what felt like a compilation of the entire season, I saw familiar faces line the road. My dad at the halfway mark, giving me a hell of a scream and that one extra gear.
As the crowds massed towards the top, the pressure on my body was building, but I had more to give. I was on a good day and it was going well. On my recce the previous day, I'd noted the 30mph painted signs making it 600m to go. That was my cue to let it rip. I wanted to hold a light gear and just spin spin spin out of the saddle to the line. Once I hit 400m to go the crowds were something else. It was now beggining to bite, yet I had more to give. As I heard the screams from my Mum and Ella, I blitzed it up. I didn't fade and held on through the mass to cross the line.
I'd done it. I finished without any issues and genuinely had a good ride. It was my best performance of the season, I actually couldn't have done more and I was content with whatever place that made me.
I got to watch the last 10 "big dogs" cross the line and most staggering was Harry McFarlane. He was lightning across the last 100m. I gave Kieran Wynne-Cattanach a roaring cheer as he crossed before Andrew Feather obliterated it across the line. It was clearly less than 30s behind KWC, so he had not won but had he beat Harry?
A couple of seconds later it was announced that he had not, and Harry took his first national hill climb! It was impressive, in the end, he went 15s faster than me. Somewhere between half and 1 W/kg more. Massive congratulations to everyone, once again it was a hell of a day and all credit to Muckle CC. My family said it was their favourite nationals!
There are so many little stories form the day but I can't post without congratulatibg Marcus Cram on his poetic stuzzing. I've beaten him twice this year by 0.1s and 0.2s, so for him to beat me by 0.17s on nationals was a poetic end to our battle.
7th or 8th! I'm still slightly unsure of my official placing. On the printed final results at the HQ, I was given a time of 3:24.00, placing me 7th. However, the live timing results, ties me with Ben Millar at 3:24 but the current CTT results gives me a time of 3:24.37 placing me 8th! So I'm one or the other but massively inside the top 10.
How To Ride
My strategy was as follows. Get up to speed, sit for 30 seconds. Then stand and keep pressing until 600m to go. Then keep a light gear and get over the first ramp. If you rip that one too much, you will blow before the line. Then rest slightly after the ramp and keeping a light gear drill it over the next 2 ramps to the line. The crowd will hopefully carry you to the line. I think a negative split is favourable but don't hold back too much at the start. One point to note is the pacing of Andrew Feather at nationals. Me and him were dead level at halfway. I only faded by around 15W from the first half to the second and that includes the sharp acceleration to start. Whereas Andrew absolutely obliterated the final half and put 12 seconds into me in 500m. Unfathomable for me to do that.
My Efforts
Year |
Time |
Power (W) |
Placing |
2024 |
3:24.0 |
515 |
7th |
The first 30 seconds.
Photos and videos from the 2024 national event will be linked below as I get around to it.
