Golds decided in cycling series

Two championships were resolved following round eight of the BBR Opticians Hill Climb Series as Ed Copeland took gold on his local climb and Bryn Nelson sealed the Junior title.

Copeland led from the front on Ludlow CC’s Wigmore Road Hill Climb, the longest on the county calendar at 1.95 miles and 5.4 per cent average gradient.

The Ludlow Brewery RT rider crossed the line in seven minutes 19.6 seconds; over a minute and a quarter ahead of the nearest competition in an excellent season.

“My home climb; one I know like the back of my hand," said Copeland. "This climb is all about pacing with a steepish start, and then a steady gradient to the finish.

"At just under two miles long it’s my preferred playground. I felt like I paced this well, and was very pleased with my time.

"With this being my first full BBR Hill Climb Series season, I never imagined that I would be the Series winner.”

Jack Young took the runners-up spot on the evening in 8:35.4 and still holds the silver medal position overall by a 32-point margin.

For the second year in a row a 12-year-old has won the BBR Junior Series through dogged perseverance.

Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Nelson took the Junior win on the evening in 9:18.8, ahead of team-mate Taliesin Goh (9:46.9), to seal overall success.

Already crowned BBR Veterans' champion, Stuart Proctor ( Dave Scott Coaching) was at it again with another Veterans' win in 8:54.3.

Ludlow Brewery RT rider Chris Edwards finished second in that category.

Proctor's performance was enough to clinch third in the overall Series.

The round seven action had seen Copeland claim victory in the Oswestry Paragon CC Mount Road Hill Climb.

He stopped the watch on six minutes, 19.84 seconds up the 1.65 mile climb towards the Old Racecourse.

Copeland’s nearest challenge came from first-time local entrant Jed Friskney of Dave Scott Coaching.

He was the only other rider to beat the seven-minute mark as he clocked 6:57.96.

Young, also riding for Dave Scott Coaching, took third spot in 7:10.65.

The first BBR Series medal went to Proctor, who took Veterans' gold after finishing in 7:21.02. Dave Saunders was his closest rival in 7:26.26.

In the BBR Female Series,13-year-old Flo Parkinson (Mid Shropshire Wheelers) stopped the watch on 12:00.38 to claim victory.

In the Under-18 category, Nelson found the change of gradient tricky to judge, but did enough to take the win in 8:07.01.