Riders ready to race to the top - entries sought for historic hill climb

The event takes place at Carlton Bank on October 2 and the sound may well be of some of those taking part wheezing and moaning.

A rider takes on Carlton Bank. Photo: Matt Westcott

Riders had been putting themselves to the test on the punishing climb near Stokesley for 25 years until 2012 when it stopped due to the deteriorating quality of the road surface.

The event was then run by the Cleveland Wheelers who moved to Clay Bank on the North York Moors.

But last year the Carlton Bank climb - named as one of the 100 best in the UK - was revived by Shaun Teasdale and members of the Stockton Wheelers. The Clay Bank ride now takes place in the morning with the Carlton Bank climb in the afternoon. A joint prize is offered for the best combined time over the two events.

“I decided to resurrect the event after a bit of encouragement from my son Josh (a professional cyclist based in Belgium),” said Shaun.

“He was the last winner back in 2012, having ridden the event every year since he was 14. It is probably his favourite local hill to train - he reckons he’s rode it probably over 200 times.

Shaun Teasdale, who has revived the Carlton Bank climb

“It’s actually such a brute and a legend of a hill that it was nice to bring it back on to the racing calendar.

“Historically, Cleveland wheelers always attracted between 40 to 60 riders. Last year, we only received around 30 entries. Roadworks made the event doubtful. Thankfully, the hill has been completely resurfaced so we’re looking for better numbers this year.”

To take part you have to be 12 or over and be part of a cycling time trials affiliated club.

“Being able to ride a bike in a semi-vertical direction is an advantage, but strictly speaking not essential,” Shaun said. “Consistently riding hills in training is possibly the single most important element in improving your strength on the bike.

“Racing a hill climb is another matter completely, though, and it takes a special kind of person to be ok with putting themselves through such pain in front of crowds of people, all done in slow motion.”

The view from halfway up. Photo: Matt Westcott

Shaun said there were many ways to tackle the bank.

“Everyone has different climbing skills,” he said. “Some will stay seated and spin a small gear. This can be a more efficient way of climbing a longer climb. 

"Smaller riders favour spinning a lower gear but some riders - usually the heavier ones - prefer to use brute strength and smash a big gear.

“It’s a style that often doesn’t look too pretty to watch, but which can be very effective. Tim Home famously raced the whole of the climb in the big ring at last year’s event which is a pretty impressive feat.”

Shaun said he hoped to attract riders of all abilities to the event.

“True die-hard hill climbers - these are the guys that surface from their caves and only appear on the cycling scene one month a year - they will literally go to the nth degree in cutting the weight from their bikes," he said. "Ranging from sawing copious amounts of carbon from their machines, to stripping the padding off their seats or taking the decals off their once expensively branded frames.

“Nothing is off limits and some of the strange sights I see at hill climbs no longer surprise me.

“All in all, though, hill climbing events are fun and the real beauty of them is that a 12-year-old kid can race against a professional cyclist in the same event and compare themselves to them and even eat cake and drink coffee with them afterwards, not many sports can boast that kind of interaction.”

Although the closing date for entries was on September 20, Shaun said he will accept paper entries until September 26.

Entries can be made via the Cycling Time Trials website, www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk