Copeland sets the standard

Ed Copeland coped best with the demands of a new course in round nine of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series.

The inaugural running of Aerologic RT’s fearsome climb of Lincoln Hill, Ironbridge proved riders with a stern challenge.

At just 0.3 miles this is by far the shortest, but arguably the hardest on the county calendar.

A legendary local climb among Shropshire cyclists, just never before being used competitively, it briefly touches 33.1 per cent in the middle with riders favourably comparing its brevity and toughness to Monsal Head Hill Climb in the Peak District - a classic fixture on the UK hill climb calendar for over 95 years.

Ludlow Brewery RT rider Copeland, already crowned Series champion, surprised himself to beat National standard riders to take the overall win.

Copeland powered up the climb in one minute, 31.1 seconds to see off strong challenges from Magspeed Racing’s Steven Prince and Elevate RT’s Josh Coyne.

“Short climbs aren’t my preferred but it seems that I can perform on them," said Copeland.

"This climb is just relentless. You start on a slope, so no run in. With a damp surface it meant grip was hard to find, and I had to spread my weight out on the bike to reduce wheel slip.

"With this being an Open event, there was some top competition. With short climb specialists like Steven Prince and Josh Coyne racing, it was really a massive surprise to win."

As well as claiming the runner-up spot, Prince won the Veterans' race an impressive 1:35.4.

A former team-mate of Copeland, he was full of praise for the event organisation, the climb and Copeland’s improvement.

“It was a great event on a brute of a climb," he said. This event deserves to grow as it has everything you need to be a classic on the calendar.

"Well done Aerologic for organising, and a massive well done to Ed, who’s flying this season."

National standard rider Coyne took third spot on the morning in 1:37.2.

Becky Pugh set the benchmark in the Female Series at 3:19.5.

The Paramount rider lies in the bronze medal position currently, and felt she could have done more.

“Lincoln Hill is a welcome addition to the Hill Climb calendar, being a steeper challenge," she said. "I think I held back for the first half, so I’m excited to come back next year and give it another shot!"

First-time entrant to the Series, Ben Bramford-Hale of Newport Shropshire CC took the county runner-up honours in 1:51.5, pushing out Jack Young (Dave Scott Racing) into county third in 1:55.7.

Young’s ride, however, was enough to secure overall silver in a fine end of season for the Oswestry-based rider.

Stuart Proctor had to be content with being runner-up in the BBR Veterans' on the day in 2:17.6, but had never seen this climb before.

“Wow, what a short but sweet one Lincoln Hill was," he said. "No real time to pace or have a strategy apart from hammering it from the off!

"Great organisation by Aerologic, hopefully there will be a repeat next year, ideally with a larger field, it certainly deserves it."