UK hill climb season is approaching its frantic crescendo this weekend in the small town of Matlock, Derbyshire. Over 400 competitors will tackle the truly formidable Bank Road, an 834 metre blast at an average gradient of 11%, but that includes a flatter final section that goes some way to disguising the maximum slopes of 22% that exist at the tail end of the main drag. It’s a brute.
UK hill climbs are not governed by the UCI, but rather by CTT (Cycling Time Trials) and as such the rules governing everything from sock height to tube depths go totally out of the window, as does the usually ever-present 6.8kg weight limit. As long as you’ve got a helmet and lights you’re basically good to go and can ride whatever you like, which means we get to see some truly mad weight weenie builds that, if I’m being honest, scare me a little.
