The National Hill Climb Championships are being run on a course that can suit strong road riders just as much as pure climbers. Valley Wheelers CC from Ballingeary in mid-Cork have stepped in to promote the event. If you want to race on Saturday week, October 3rd, you need to get your entries in quick (Photo by Denis Cummins, homepage photo by Alan Donnelly)
New categories have been added and more Irish titles will be on offer at the National Hill Climb Championships on Saturday week, October 3rd, in Ballingeary, Co Cork.
Promoted by one of Ireland's newer clubs Valley Wheelers, entries for the event have been coming in steadily but with a cut-off date of next Tuesday, organisers have warned those keen on riding to get their applications in.
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“It’s at the end of the year but we’re committed to putting on a great event and just hope there can be the interest from the riders,” said club spokesperson John Horgan.
Valley Wheelers are a progressive club in the Muskerry area of mid-Cork and began back in 2009.
Today, they boast over 100 members and this will be the biggest competitive event they've hosted.
“We wanted to do something because we hadn’t held anything like it before so we wanted to lift the club for the young lads to give them an insight into where cycling can take them,” explained Horgan.
“We didn’t have experience of hosting road races so we thought we’d get a bit of exposure through this and so far it’s been great and we’ve a good group signed on.
“But we’ll be closing the entry from next Tuesday to give ourselves a few days to get organised. So anyone interested should get registered as soon as possible.”
The course for the event is very technical and rather than featuring a steady climb from start to finish, the gradient changes throughout.
The final third is straight uphill though and anyone who can climb well will look to make up any time lost on the earlier part of the route, which can suit strong road riders rather than pure climbers.
From kilometres 4.5 to 5.5 the road really rises and hits a leg-breaking 20 per cent at one point before it evens off slightly and briefly.
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The next pinch comes at the 5.6 kilometre mark and it pulls up for 300 metres, hitting 16 per cent.
There’s another slight dip after that but from 6.1 to the finish at 6.5 kilometres it’s solid climbing again, hitting 19 per cent at its steepest pitch.
The road surface has recently been re-laid and the hedgerows trimmed back and though it’s a narrow track, it’s a safe one, so a fine afternoon’s entertainment is in store.
The first rider will start at 4pm, with sign-on starting from 2pm.
The event HQ, parking, changing facilities, medal presentation and refreshments will be at Ballingeary GAA clubhouse in the village, which is well signposted from Macroom on the main Cork to Killarney road.
Registration is on-line only here and is priced at €15.
The minimum license requirement is the limited competition available from Cycling Ireland.
The national champion will receive a specially designed skin suit as well as the gold medal. There will also be medals for the following categories, subject to minimum numbers:
- Overall National Champion
- Masters Over 40
- Masters Over 50
- Masters Over 60
Cycling Ireland will also be awarding points in the various categories.
There are also separate events for A2, A3, A4, women and junior riders. However, while prizes will be awarded in those categories there are no national titles on offer.
Further information on the event including competition categories and accommodation are available on www.valleywheelerscc.com , the event Facebook Page or the organisers can be contacted on [email protected].
For a Strava segment of the course click here
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