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I compete on the road in every discipline but hill climbing is my speciality. I have won the national championship five times, most recently in 2003. |
| The national hill climb championship comes at the end of the road season and for the hundreds of spectators who line the course it is a social event. Despite the end-of-term feel to the event, the top riders take it extremely seriously - my whole year is geared around three or four minutes at the end of October. | |
| Hill climbs are held under the rules of Cycling Time Trials, starting at the bottom of a hill and ending at the top. The courses are normally short and steep, so spectators get a close-up view of the competitors as they struggle up the hill. As a measure of how much the riders give to make it to the finish, some races have "catchers" who wait beyond the line to help them off their bikes! | |
| Fixed wheel bikes are lighter than bikes with gears and, as long as there are no downhill bits, will always be fastest. I go to great lengths to find components that are light but strong, and my best bike weighs just over twelve pounds. Click here for details. | |
| The winners of all the national hill climbs that I have ridden, and links giving more details are: | |