This Saturday was the double header of Huddersfield Star Wheelers – Granville Sydney Memorial Trophy (on Jackson Bridge) and Holme Valley Wheelers (on Holme Moss)
With the National on Jackson Bridge in two weeks time, there was a big entry, with 90+ riders and many of those hoping to be contending for Nat. Champs on startsheet.
It has been quite a good week training. I went to Jackson Bridge earlier in week to test the national course. It was wet and strong headwind, though sun did come out just towards the end. The bad news was my stages power meter finally went kaput. It had been going through batteries every four hours, but now this is nothing working at all. I’ll have to hope I can get an exchange for this Stages generation one for Stages generation Two, but by the time I’m back in Oxford and get a replacement, it will be too late to use this hill climb season. Still my Quark power meter broke for several months in 2013 – it’s not the end of the world, though there is always a value to seeing your power go up and down.
Today, the weather was quite good, though there was a light headwind at the top – unlike last year where I think there was light tailwind.
I did the course in 4.19. Slower than last year. I thought I maybe held back too much for the first steep section. Though I had brief chat to Adam Kenway at the top. He felt he had gone too hard on the first section and suffered on the rest of the course.
It’s a tough one pacing hill climbs, especially a variable gradient like Jackson Bridge. If you don’t do as well as you would like on a hill climb you can always think you could have paced it better, but sometimes you just don’t have the legs.
I finished 4th, behind Dan Evans, Adam Kenway and Joe Clark.
- 1st Junior was Tim Home – 4.27 NRG RT
- 1st Vet – Jim Henderson 4.28
- 1st Lady – Lou Bates –
- 1st U/16 – Nathan Allatt
Holme Valley CC 
After a brief drive over to Holme, it was time to get ready for the second hill climb on the menu. It is a 1.3 mile version of Holme Moss, made famous through the Tour de France climbing it in 2014. It averages 9.5% for the 1.3 miles, and fortunately there was a light tailwind at the top. I went reasonably well; it’s definitely a climb where you can get into more of a rhythm than Jackson Bridge.
I finished in 6.30 which was 3rd place. 1st D.Evans, 2nd J.Teasdale. 3rd me. 1st lady was Dame Sarah Storey.
Results HSW 2015
| 1 | Dan Evans | Team Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical | 04:11.0 | Senior |
| 2 | Adam Kenway | SportGrub Kuota Cycling Team | 04:15.8 | Senior |
| 3 | Joseph Clark | Team Envelopemaster | 04:17.8 | Senior |
| 4 | Tejvan Pettinger | Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team | 04:19.5 | Senior |
| 5 | Matt Clinton | Mike Vaughan Cycles | 04:22.1 | Senior |
| 6 | Tim Home | NRG RT | 04:27.3 | Junior (M) |
| 7 | Josh Teasdale | Prorace (uci foreign registered) | 04:28.3 | Senior |
| 8 | Jim Henderson | Southport CC | 04:28.6 | Vet |
| 9 | Ben Davis | Wheelbase Altura MGD | 04:28.8 | Senior |
| 10 | Joe Norledge | Procycling Magazine RT | 04:29.5 | Senior |
| 11 | Chris Dyke | Manchester Bicycle Club | 04:30.3 | Senior |
| 12 | Jack O’Neill | Mike Vaughan Cycles | 04:33.4 | Senior |
| 13 | David Huck | Lakes Road Club | 04:34.1 | Senior |
| 14 | Patrick Clark | University of Sheffield CC | 04:37.9 | Senior |
| 15 | Louis Szymanski | ABC Centreville | 04:40.1 | Senior |
| 16 | Walter Hamilton | Veloclub Edinburgh – SCU | 04:40.4 | Senior |
| 17 | Jacob Ragan | The Nab Racing Team | 04:42.4 | Senior |
| 18 | Kieran Wynne-Cattanach | Team Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical | 04:43.9 | Junior (M) |
| 19 | Niall Paterson | Velo Club Cumbria | 04:47.5 | Senior |
| 20 | Ben Jacobs | Albarosa CC | 04:48.0 | Senior |
| 21 | hamish mcdougall | Leicester Forest CC | 04:50.6 | Senior |
| 22 | Kieran Savage | Yorkshire Road Club | 04:53.6 | Junior (M) |
| 23 | Nathan Allatt | Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA | 04:54.0 | Juv M |
| 24 | Callum Stewart | Sheffrec CC | 04:54.5 | Senior |
| 25 | Eugene Cross | Clifton C.C. York | 04:55.4 | Junior (M) |
| 26 | Mark Tickle | Leigh Premier RC | 04:56.1 | Senior |
| 27 | Courtney Blockley-Campton | Leicester Forest CC | 04:57.7 | Senior |
| 28 | James Allen | Langsett Cycles RT | 04:58.4 | Senior |
| 29 | Joshua Hodgson | Kuota-GSG-Spinergy | 04:59.0 | Senior |
| 30 | Leon Wright | Team P B Performance | 04:59.2 | Senior |
| 31 | Matthew Brown | University of Sheffield CC | 05:00.9 | Senior |
| 32 | Chris Smith | Condor Road Club | 05:02.3 | Senior |
| 33 | James Hill | Team Envelopemaster | 05:02.5 | Senior |
| 34 | Nick Despres | Guernsey Velo Club | 05:06.5 | Vet 50 |
| 35 | Timothy Webster | Holmfirth C C | 05:08.3 | Vet |
| 36 | Andrew Pearson | HD Revolutions | 05:08.3 | Vet |
| 37 | Robin Short | Pedalsport CC | 05:09.1 | Senior |
| 38 | Kenny Cliffe | Leicester Forest CC | 05:14.5 | Senior |
| 39 | David Clarke | Giordana – Mitsibushi RT | 05:14.8 | Senior |
| 40 | John Wild | Velo Viewer | 05:15.4 | Vet |
| 41 | Mason Hollyman | Kirklees Cycling Academy | 05:15.8 | Juv (M) |
| 42 | Peter Holdsworth | HD Revolutions | 05:16.4 | Senior |
| 43 | Tom Brazier | Team Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical | 05:17.1 | Senior |
| 44 | Andrew Askwith | Bridlington CC | 05:19.1 | Vet 50 |
| 45 | Richard Lilleker | Cleveland Wheelers CC | 05:23.4 | Senior |
| 46 | Paul Smith | Huddersfield Star Whs | 05:25.4 | Senior |
| 47 | Jamie Holmes | Crewe Clarion Whs | 05:25.7 | Junior (M) |
| 48 | Neil Bentley | Sheffrec CC | 05:28.4 | Vet |
| 49 | Mark Nulty | Glossop Kinder Velo | 05:28.6 | Senior |
| 50 | Lou Bates | Carnac Planet X | 05:29.0 | Female |
| 51 | Will Boyes | Team Cystic Fibrosis | 05:30.7 | Vet |
| 52 | Jason Fossey | Huddersfield Star Whs | 05:31.7 | Vet |
| 53 | Theo Jefferies | Westmead Team 88 | 05:32.1 | Junior (M) |
| 54 | Elliot Dason-Barber | Oxonian CC | 05:32.5 | Vet |
| 55 | James Wakefield | Huddersfield Star Whs | 05:35.4 | Senior |
| 56 | Mary Wilkinson | Yorkshire Road Club | 05:35.5 | Female |
| 57 | John Hey | West Pennine RC | 05:35.7 | Vet 50 |
| 58 | William Staveley | PH-MASCycling | 05:38.9 | Senior |
| 59 | Harry Myers | 3 RT | 05:41.8 | Junior (M) |
| 60 | Sam Mansfield | Champion System / VCUK | 05:51.3 | Senior |
| 61 | Graham Piccavey | Huddersfield Star Whs | 05:57.0 | Vet |
| 62 | Jonathan Kenyon | Huddersfield Star Whs | 05:58.0 | Senior |
| 63 | Heather Despres | Guernsey Velo Club | 06:05.4 | Junior (F) |
| 64 | Jamie Ramsden | Huddersfield Star Whs | 06:07.0 | Vet |
| 65 | Paul Brierley | Huddersfield Road Club Salamander Fabrications | 06:09.3 | Vet |
| 66 | Nicola Soden | Stocksbridge CC | 06:11.2 | Female |
| 67 | Henry Hollyman | Kirklees Cycling Academy | 06:12.1 | Juv (M) |
| 68 | Jessica Roberts | Team Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical | 06:13.7 | Female |
| 69 | James Hyland | Huddersfield Star Whs | 06:14.5 | Senior |
| 70 | Dan Robinson | Manchester Wheelers Club | 06:16.7 | Senior |
| 71 | Natasha Cutmore | RST Sport/Aero-Coach | 06:24.6 | Female |
| 72 | Melissa Brand | Solihull CC | 06:28.1 | Female |
| 73 | Helen Roby | HD Revolutions | 06:28.2 | Female |
| 74 | Reece Watt | Huddersfield Star Whs | 06:35.9 | Senior |
| 75 | Josephine Gilbert | Velosure Starley Primal Pro Cycling | 06:37.7 | Female |
| 76 | Sandra Mackay | Veloschils Interbike RT | 06:44.3 | Fem Vet |
| 77 | Louise Scupham | Scarborough Paragon CC | 06:49.8 | Junior (F) |
| 78 | Gavin Dubens | Huddersfield Star Whs | 07:10.4 | Senior |
| 79 | Shaun Schembri | Huddersfield Star Whs | 07:18.2 | Vet |
| 80 | Mark Haynes | Albarosa CC | 07:48.6 | Vet |
| 81 | Gillian Dukes | Huddersfield Star Whs | 08:05.4 | Fem Vet |
| 82 | Ruby Boyes | Huddersfield Star Whs | 08:10.2 | Juv (F) |
| 83 | Francis Reddington | Ravensthorpe CC | 08:46.9 | Vet 50 |
| 84 | Jonathan Poole | Ashley Touring CC | 08:58.3 | Vet 50 |
| 85 | Sophie Ramsden | Huddersfield Star Whs | 09:23.3 | Juv (F) |
| 86 | David Tinker | Clayton Velo | 10:16.7 | Vet 50 |
| 87 | Thomas Dason-Barber | Team Milton Keynes | DNS | Junior (M) |
| 88 | Rebecca Pidgeon | Darlington Tri Club | DNS | Female |
| 89 | Nikola Matthews | Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International BOBC | DNS | Female |
| 90 | Suzie Richards | Albarosa CC | DNS | Female |
| 91 | Jen Wolstenholme | Huddersfield Star Whs | DNS | Female |
| 92 | Richard Binks | PH-MAS Cycling | DNS | Vet 50 |
| 93 | julian wilkie | Cyclesport International | DNS | Senior |
| 94 | Paul Jones | Bristol South CC | DNS | Senior |
| 95 | Thomas Traviss-Pollard | Team Polypipe | DNS | Senior |
| 96 | Archie Cross | University of Sheffield CC | DNS | Senior |
Dear Tejvean, before you send your stages power meter back it may be worth checking whether the batteries that you have taken out are fully discharged. There seem to be some problems with the springs that hold the batteries in place so they wobble out of position and lose contact. Some people have found that putting a little pad of foam or even just a small piece of cardboard on top of the battery underneath the cover is enough to maintain the contact and the stages power meter works again perfectly.
Hey Tejvean,
Ive got similar problems with my Stages, it just doesn’t give anything and the battery is 100%. Ive also tried 3 different new batteries just to make sure. A couple times when i take the battery out then put it back in then it gets detected but then disappears again. Ive done a Garmin reset because i thought it might be that, but then i remembered the Stages app which was also delivering 0 power and 0 cadence so i know it was the power meter.
Im not sure what to do about it now as my years warrenty ran out a couple months ago:(
That sounds exactly like my problem
I was introduced to your blog a few weeks ago because this is my first time doing hill climbs. I’ve entered the Nationals and reading your blog makes me think I am in no way focused enough on weight. I rode Holme Moss on Saturday with not only a bottle cage but also a mirror on my handlebar to see who was behind me… These will be ditched before the Nationals. I’ve also been told I have very heavy pedals. How embarrassing. Reading your blog will now form part of my training.
Good luck in nationals
Hi Tejvan.
I can back add further credence to Chris’s comment. I had exactly the same issue with my Stages (2nd generation having had the same issue with 1st generation and had it replaced). I noticed that when I squeezed the battery cover slightly it sparked back into life (testing using the iPhone app at the time). So I cut a tiny square of inner tube and popped that inside the battery cover and has been working perfectly since. I noticed that going over bump in the road could be enough to stop the Stages working so it must have been shaking the battery away from the contact.
One of my clubmates had the same issue on a ride and we gently pressed on his battery case and that got his working again too and he has fixed his permanently in a similar way.
Cheers
Ben
Cheers Ben and Chris.
The frustrating thing is that somebody was having a look at my stages and took cap off. I picked up battery cap and put in my back jersey pocket, and now I’ve lost it! so I can’t test that theory.
Tejvan,
Drop the shop you bought the stages from an email, they will have spares they can give you. I snapped the tabs off mine, and they sent me two replacements for free. I also have the same problem as Ben and Dan above, I used a little folded up square of paper between the battery cover and the battery to push the battery firmly against the contacts. All works fine now
I know Evans cycles used to sell replacements for £1. Ive just looked on their website and they only seem to have the O rings listed at the moment. In fact maybe thats part of the problem. Perhaps the O rings become squashed and allow the cap to float about abit?
Can confirm, the small section of inner tube under the battery cover has bought my Stages back to life!