What an achievement! 50 continuous years of the Wigmore CC Open Hill Climb
We even escaped the COVID pause!
We were excited to be able to commemorate the 50th running of our annual Hill Climb with you all this year. From its inaugural ascent on Cold Blow Lane in 1976, moving to its established and now beloved location on Hollingbourne Hill in 1993, riders support has made this event one of the cornerstones of our club year.
To every rider, past and present, who has tackled the challenging slopes, thank you, to all the past organisers and helpers, another big thank you.
Congratulations to Matthew Brown and Hannah Clough on their winning rides on the golden anniversary of the Wigmore CC open hill climb.
The riders were greeted with another dry day, with a gentle Southerly breeze that felt as if it should result in quicker times than the previous year. In his first year of competing in the Wigmore Hill Climb local Matthew Brown, riding for the University of Nottingham CC, took the victory. Joint second was Charles Langford (Lee Valley Youth CC), winning the junior competition for the second year running, improving from his 7th place of last year and James Hayward, also improving his placing from last year. James not only placed joint 2nd but took the over 40’s prize, led Woolwich CC to the team prize and, with this event doubling as their club’s hill climb championship, also became their champion.
Also riding the event for her first time Hannah Clough took the women’s victory with a time that has only been beaten by 2 other women. A clean sweep for the University of Nottingham CC, congratulations.
And congratulations also go to Riley Wastall (4T+ Cyclopark), in his first year of being old enough to ride the event, for taking the youth rider award.
The over 50s category was won by Glenn Hutchison (Rue Morgue CC) on his first attempt at our event, while having taken the over 50s award last year, in his first year in the over 60s category, Keith Walker of the promoting club, took the award for the over 60s.
Our event also doubles as the club hill climb championship for Medway VC, San Fairy Ann CC and West Kent RC, congratulations to Connor Clare, Reuban Davey and 70+ winner Trevor Benton who are their clubs’ respective champions.
As always Wigmore CC extend their thanks to the Boyd family for the use of the farm buildings at the top of Hollingbourne Hill. Perfectly located at the top of the hill the area makes a great HQ for both parking and presenting the rewards, the positive comments received by Wigmore CC will be passed on.
Once again photography was courtesy Mike Savage, please check out his great images, why not purchase a photo as a reminder of the enjoyable pain of climbing Hollingbourne Hill at max effort or a perhaps it’s time to update your Strava profile image? See here:
https://www.mikesavagephotography.co.uk/event-galleries/2025-events/2526-013/
For our anniversary we tried something different for the catering, provided by Mobilebar Catering of Sittingbourne, many thanks, a wonderful addition to the outdoor results area and feedback was positive.
Finally, a big thank you to all the volunteers who ensured that the event was safe and issue-free.
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Start timekeeper | Paul Buckley |
| Finish timekeeper | David Abbotts |
| Recorders, runners & results board | Julien Barton Antony Bee Phil Appleby |
| Flyer | Mike Finch |
| Results board preparation | Mike Finch |
| Awarder of prizes | Robert Philbrook |
| Pusher off | Robert Philbrook |
| Signing in/out | Antony Bee |
| Start area | Kelly Webb |
| Marshals (hill & parking) | Dave Wastall David Smith |
| Overall coordinator | Robert Philbrook |
| Start and results sheets | Keith Walker |
Apologies to anyone missed.
And, of course, thanks you to all the riders for making the 50th Wigmore CC Hill Climb another success, we look forward to seeing you plus your club mates next year for our 51st open hill climb!
See here for the full results on our website: