I think the UK Hill Climb National Championships might be my favourite bike race of the year. Yes, I’ve bought you tech galleries and pain faces from Paris-Roubaix and The Traka, but no event in the world has as many mad, sketchy, homemade, and amazing builds as this.
I’ve already bought you the eventual men’s winner’s machine, Harry MacFarlane’s 4.8kg hacked Trek Emonda, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On the slopes of Bank Road in a small town just south of the Peak District national park, I saw Brompton brakes mashed together with eTap shifter paddles, frames found in skips raced at the highest level, and even Alex Dowsett’s hour record tyres. Trick carbon superparts rubbed shoulders with duct tape and homemade bits. Ancient tubular wheels were fitted to modern superlight frames, and components get forced to work together if only for a few minutes. It’s a tech journo's dream day out.
