2026 RTTC National Hill Climb Championships: report and results

Illi Gardner (Cardiff Ajax CC) lived up to expectations as the former Everesting world record holder put in a dominant performance to take her fourth national hill climb title.

Lucy Harris (Cowley Road Condors CC) was the fastest of the first wave of women with 19:08 in a morning of strong winds and frequent showers. Her time suggested that the form which won her the road bike classification at the CTT Closed Circuit Championships earlier this month had not deserted her, and that she could trouble the later starters.

So it proved, with only four riders able to beat her time. Jihanna Bonilla Allard (Paralloy RT) and veteran Rebecca Richardson (Team Lifting Gear Products) were the best of the afternoon’s earlier starters, Richardson’s ride coming in just the wrong side of 20 minutes as the sun came out and provisionally putting her on the podium.

It would not be long, however, before Maria Holdcroft (Cowley Road Condors CC) appeared. The Bec CC hill climb winner, perhaps better suited to shorter efforts, looked exhausted in the final 150 metres and slowed significantly to the line, but still posted the fastest women’s time so far with 18:13, 33 seconds ahead of Karolina Zydelyte (Dulwich Paragon CC), who went on to take bronze.

Defending champion Rachel Galler (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing), unbeaten in the blue and red bands over the past year, battled to 12th on a course that did little to favour her punchy, out-of-the-saddle style.

The day belonged to Gardner, however. The pure climber crossed the line in 17:33, catching numerous riders ahead of her on the road, and in doing so cemented her status as one of the all-time greats, showing little sign of slowing down on this return to form.

Gardner told The British Continental after the race:

“It feels great. I found last year quite difficult with the shorter climb, so I was excited for a longer hill this year. But I also felt quite a lot of pressure going into it, so I’m really happy.

“I’m never confident. Most of the hill climbs I did were about five minutes, so quite different to this one. You never know how it’s going to go on the day, as anything can happen, and you also never know which riders will show up, because we don’t really have the opportunity to race many riders from across the country until nationals.”

Like many in the field, she had been wary of the exposed upper slopes.

“I wasn’t sure how windy it was going to be at the top, but I heard it was pretty bad, so I was a bit nervous heading into that open section. It wasn’t actually as windy as I dreaded, but I paced it a bit wrong. I set out a bit hard, so the exposed upper section felt even harder.”

As for next year, wherever the championship goes: “I’m not sure what the course will be, but I’ll definitely be there.”

Ed Laverack could barely hold back the tears as he achieved his dream of regaining the national hill climb title he last won on Haytor Vale seven years ago, beating four-time champion Andrew Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) by just 1.2 seconds on Porlock Toll Road. Road racer Rowan Baker (JAKROO Handsling Racing) took bronze with a brilliantly measured ride.

The sea was barely visible from the top of the 6.6-kilometre ascent as the first riders set off at 9.30am. The battered moorland, and the leaves blowing across the freshly swept course, were a sign not only that Laverack’s course record of 13:24, set in 2020, was safe for another year, but that the more than 500 entrants were in for what many of them would describe as a “grim” day.

Carl Jolly (Schils–Doltcini RT), one of the earliest starters, was first to appear at the summit, laying down a marker for Spencer Corder (Beeston CC) to duly dismantle. Wearing leg warmers, and the only rider in the first wave to sport a time trial helmet, the under-23 rider flew up the course in 16:28, a time that would survive the rest of the morning until the scheduled break. Euan White (Congleton CC–MyWindsock) was his closest challenger, five seconds back.

Any hope that conditions might improve was quickly dashed by the howling wind and regular showers. Outside bet Baker took it all in, sipping an energy drink as he prepared for his effort later in the day.

After a flurry of juniors to start the afternoon, all eyes were on CTT National 10 champion Matt Rossiter (WattShop). He opted, unsurprisingly, for a full time trial set-up including a trispoke front wheel, and stopped the clock at 16:47 on his hill climb debut, noting afterwards that the wind was not as strong as it had been earlier.

With conditions improving and stronger riders taking to the course, it was only a matter of time before Corder’s ride was bettered. Daniel Herterick (Chorlton Velo) lowered the bar to 15:59 as the competition entered its final 100 starters.

Nicholas Candy (Finchley RT) went close with 16:02 as the slick, aerodynamic positions of the top riders started to appear, before Baker put his energy to good use with an exceptional 15:00.

With just the seeded riders to come, it was Gabe Dellar (RideRevolution Coaching CT) who lit up the packed upper slopes first. Head bobbing and sprinting out of the saddle, he crossed the line in 15:02, barely finishing before the wall of noise behind him erupted. Andrew Feather was coming quickly, skinsuit unzipped, and went to the top of the open standings with 14:33 after a season devoted to adapting his style to the kind of effort Porlock Toll Road demands.

Laverack followed, the pair inseparable to the naked eye. Exactly 30 seconds behind Feather on the road as he entered the final 150 metres, seated and digging deep, he crossed the line just 1.2 seconds to the good.

All that remained was for Kieran Wynne-Cattanach (Team Lifting Gear Products) to finish. His time of 15:50 confirmed his fellow Welshman as champion once again.

Laverack told The British Continental after the race:

“I can’t even describe how [this] feels and what it means. It’s literally half my career. I was under 25 when I won it in 2019, and I felt like a free spirit back then. I’ve been doing hill climbs for quite a few years now, and I’ve always had that drive to win and do as well as I could.

“This year, coming back to Porlock, it’s one I’ve done many times before. It pays to know the climb because it’s quite long, and there are lots of technical bits to it as well. I just tried to execute it as well as I could and ride it to my favour.

“At one point, with maybe two and a half or two kilometres to go, I could just about see Andy [Feather] further up the road. We set off 30 seconds apart, so that gave me hope that I was close enough for it to be tight at the finish. That gave me an extra boost to dig in for the last couple of hundred metres. Andy’s got a trademark finish, a very, very strong finish, so I just had to hold on and do what I could.”

Laverack was also quick to praise Bateman, whose fastest time of the day reversed the result of the Snake Pass hill climb.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it, what Ezra is doing? He’s been coming up through the ranks with strong performances over the last couple of years, and I think this year has just cemented what we already knew about his talent and his climbing ability.

“It’s awesome to see lots of youngsters doing really well at the hill climbs, because it’s a different racing option to the time trials we often see. They’re doing a great job, inspiring even me.”

Junior open

The junior riders stole the show on Porlock Toll Road, the threshold-style test allowing Ezra Bateman (Decathlon CMA CGM Juniors) and Oliver Swinburn (Velo Club Lincoln) to shine. Scarborough rider Bateman posted the fastest time of the day, while Swinburn was the surprise package with the fourth-fastest ride of all.

Such was the changeable weather that the first wave of junior riders met the most favourable conditions of the day to that point, and their early afternoon slot produced some fast times. Harper Johnson (360cycling), Matthew Fletcher (Harrogate Nova Race Team) and George Bromley (Beeston CC) all finished around the 16-minute mark, and Gus Dutton (camsmajaco) went quicker still with a fine 15:10.

Fast as those rides were, none came close to Swinburn’s. His scarcely believable 14:58 caught the attention of the crowds and of commentator Matt Stephens, while two-time champion Harry MacFarlane looked visibly shocked as he watched on.

With none of the later starters able to challenge Swinburn, there was perhaps only one name with the potential and the reputation to better his mark. Bateman, the last of the juniors to start, appeared round the final corner like a force of nature, having caught numerous riders on the climb. Out of the saddle far more than those before him, he emptied the tank to set a phenomenal 14:31. Finley Hudson (Harrogate Nova Race Team), finishing soon after, put in a very respectable 16:16 to take 6th in one of the most competitive junior events in the championship’s history.

The performances of Bateman and his rivals prompted further calls for juniors to be eligible for senior titles, following Harry Hudson’s rides in recent editions.

Speaking to The British Continental after the race, Bateman was diplomatic when asked whether he should have been declared open champion.

“To be honest, no, because it’s a different category. Even if I set the fastest time, the two categories are different,” he explained, delighted to have turned the tables on Laverack after finishing behind him at Snake Pass.

“It feels crazy. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it, so I’m not really sure what to say. I did not see that one coming. I was expecting [Laverack] to beat me here. But I’m pretty happy.”

Junior women

Mabli Phillips (Shibden CC) made it a year to remember, adding the national junior hill climb title to her road race title on her debut in the event.

With the juniors made to wait until the afternoon for their ascents, they met some of the worst of the fast-changing conditions. The wind picked up, blowing over the barriers at the top of the course; the marshals had already taken evasive action when the same thing happened at the start.

That did not seem to bother the national junior road race champion, who stormed into the lead at the end of the first section of her category, getting the better of Seren Thomas (camsmajaco) with 19:36. Twelve-year-old Libby Winkley (360cycling) was the surprise package with a podium-contending 20:29.

It was not until late afternoon, with the sun shining, that Winkley was nudged down to 4th. Eleanor Thompson (Team Ohten) took silver with 19:37, just 0.9 seconds slower than Phillips, and Phoebe Langlands (Halesowen A&CC) earned bronze with 20:02, Phillips surviving a nervy wait in top spot to claim the title.