Huddersfield SW hill climb 2015

This Saturday was the double header of Huddersfield Star Wheelers – Granville Sydney Memorial Trophy (on Jackson Bridge) and Holme Valley Wheelers (on Holme Moss)

Jackson-Bridge
Top of Jackson Bridge

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.

Jackson Bridge
Jackson Bridge

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 2015-start

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.

view from Holme Moss

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

1Dan EvansTeam Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical04:11.0Senior
2Adam KenwaySportGrub Kuota Cycling Team04:15.8Senior
3Joseph ClarkTeam Envelopemaster04:17.8Senior
4Tejvan PettingerSri Chinmoy Cycling Team04:19.5Senior
5Matt ClintonMike Vaughan Cycles04:22.1Senior
6Tim HomeNRG RT04:27.3Junior (M)
7Josh TeasdaleProrace (uci foreign registered)04:28.3Senior
8Jim HendersonSouthport CC04:28.6Vet
9Ben DavisWheelbase Altura MGD04:28.8Senior
10Joe NorledgeProcycling Magazine RT04:29.5Senior
11Chris DykeManchester Bicycle Club04:30.3Senior
12Jack O’NeillMike Vaughan Cycles04:33.4Senior
13David HuckLakes Road Club04:34.1Senior
14Patrick ClarkUniversity of Sheffield CC04:37.9Senior
15Louis SzymanskiABC Centreville04:40.1Senior
16Walter HamiltonVeloclub Edinburgh – SCU04:40.4Senior
17Jacob RaganThe Nab Racing Team04:42.4Senior
18Kieran Wynne-CattanachTeam Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical04:43.9Junior (M)
19Niall PatersonVelo Club Cumbria04:47.5Senior
20Ben JacobsAlbarosa CC04:48.0Senior
21hamish mcdougallLeicester Forest CC04:50.6Senior
22Kieran SavageYorkshire Road Club04:53.6Junior (M)
23Nathan AllattRoyal Navy & Royal Marines CA04:54.0Juv M
24Callum StewartSheffrec CC04:54.5Senior
25Eugene CrossClifton C.C. York04:55.4Junior (M)
26Mark TickleLeigh Premier RC04:56.1Senior
27Courtney Blockley-CamptonLeicester Forest CC04:57.7Senior
28James AllenLangsett Cycles RT04:58.4Senior
29Joshua HodgsonKuota-GSG-Spinergy04:59.0Senior
30Leon WrightTeam P B Performance04:59.2Senior
31Matthew BrownUniversity of Sheffield CC05:00.9Senior
32Chris SmithCondor Road Club05:02.3Senior
33James HillTeam Envelopemaster05:02.5Senior
34Nick DespresGuernsey Velo Club05:06.5Vet 50
35Timothy WebsterHolmfirth C C05:08.3Vet
36Andrew PearsonHD Revolutions05:08.3Vet
37Robin ShortPedalsport CC05:09.1Senior
38Kenny CliffeLeicester Forest CC05:14.5Senior
39David ClarkeGiordana – Mitsibushi RT05:14.8Senior
40John WildVelo Viewer05:15.4Vet
41Mason HollymanKirklees Cycling Academy05:15.8Juv (M)
42Peter HoldsworthHD Revolutions05:16.4Senior
43Tom BrazierTeam Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical05:17.1Senior
44Andrew AskwithBridlington CC05:19.1Vet 50
45Richard LillekerCleveland Wheelers CC05:23.4Senior
46Paul SmithHuddersfield Star Whs05:25.4Senior
47Jamie HolmesCrewe Clarion Whs05:25.7Junior (M)
48Neil BentleySheffrec CC05:28.4Vet
49Mark NultyGlossop Kinder Velo05:28.6Senior
50Lou BatesCarnac Planet X05:29.0Female
51Will BoyesTeam Cystic Fibrosis05:30.7Vet
52Jason FosseyHuddersfield Star Whs05:31.7Vet
53Theo JefferiesWestmead Team 8805:32.1Junior (M)
54Elliot Dason-BarberOxonian CC05:32.5Vet
55James WakefieldHuddersfield Star Whs05:35.4Senior
56Mary WilkinsonYorkshire Road Club05:35.5Female
57John HeyWest Pennine RC05:35.7Vet 50
58William StaveleyPH-MASCycling05:38.9Senior
59Harry Myers3 RT05:41.8Junior (M)
60Sam MansfieldChampion System / VCUK05:51.3Senior
61Graham PiccaveyHuddersfield Star Whs05:57.0Vet
62Jonathan KenyonHuddersfield Star Whs05:58.0Senior
63Heather DespresGuernsey Velo Club06:05.4Junior (F)
64Jamie RamsdenHuddersfield Star Whs06:07.0Vet
65Paul BrierleyHuddersfield Road Club Salamander Fabrications06:09.3Vet
66Nicola SodenStocksbridge CC06:11.2Female
67Henry HollymanKirklees Cycling Academy06:12.1Juv (M)
68Jessica RobertsTeam Elite/Paul Bethall Electrical06:13.7Female
69James HylandHuddersfield Star Whs06:14.5Senior
70Dan RobinsonManchester Wheelers Club06:16.7Senior
71Natasha CutmoreRST Sport/Aero-Coach06:24.6Female
72Melissa BrandSolihull CC06:28.1Female
73Helen RobyHD Revolutions06:28.2Female
74Reece WattHuddersfield Star Whs06:35.9Senior
75Josephine GilbertVelosure Starley Primal Pro Cycling06:37.7Female
76Sandra MackayVeloschils Interbike RT06:44.3Fem Vet
77Louise ScuphamScarborough Paragon CC06:49.8Junior (F)
78Gavin DubensHuddersfield Star Whs07:10.4Senior
79Shaun SchembriHuddersfield Star Whs07:18.2Vet
80Mark HaynesAlbarosa CC07:48.6Vet
81Gillian DukesHuddersfield Star Whs08:05.4Fem Vet
82Ruby BoyesHuddersfield Star Whs08:10.2Juv (F)
83Francis ReddingtonRavensthorpe CC08:46.9Vet 50
84Jonathan PooleAshley Touring CC08:58.3Vet 50
85Sophie RamsdenHuddersfield Star Whs09:23.3Juv (F)
86David TinkerClayton Velo10:16.7Vet 50
87Thomas Dason-BarberTeam Milton KeynesDNSJunior (M)
88Rebecca PidgeonDarlington Tri ClubDNSFemale
89Nikola MatthewsPearl Izumi Sports Tours International BOBCDNSFemale
90Suzie RichardsAlbarosa CCDNSFemale
91Jen WolstenholmeHuddersfield Star WhsDNSFemale
92Richard BinksPH-MAS CyclingDNSVet 50
93julian wilkieCyclesport InternationalDNSSenior
94Paul JonesBristol South CCDNSSenior
95Thomas Traviss-PollardTeam PolypipeDNSSenior
96Archie CrossUniversity of Sheffield CCDNSSenior

10 thoughts on “Huddersfield SW hill climb 2015”

  1. 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.

    Reply
  2. 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:(

    Reply
  3. 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.

    Reply
  4. 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

    Reply
  5. 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.

    Reply
    • 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

      Reply
  6. 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?

    Reply

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