Rusty Old Men!
Making a brief return to hill climbing since his 14th place in the National Hill Climb 3 years ago, Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RT) finished a highly creditable 3rd in the Alford Wheelers Hill Climb held on Saturday 11th September on Tetford Hill between Louth and Horncastle. Like team mate Stuart Blanchard, Ian was initially drawn to the race by the £100 prize money for 1st place offered by the promoting club. With the prospect the Alford Wheelers Hill Climb incorporating the LRRA hill climb championships, the Cherry Valley riders lined up one more time this season in an all out effort to attain this title which had not been contested over the last 4 years. LRRA winner, only beating Ian by .04 of a second was Craig Lamb from the promoting club Alford Wheelers.
Setting off near the start of the field was Cherry Valley rider Stuart Blanchard who romped up the climb on his retro machine in a time of 2.27.07. Stuarts time is even more impressive given this is his 1st race since 1987 and he has spent most of this year on the Physios table until July with an injured knee. Stuart was rightly rewarded with a win in the over 35 age category. For all his efforts, Stuart finally finished a hugely creditable 15th overall.
Open event winner was James Ward (Cambridge CC) with an incredible time of 1.58.09. The next 4 riders were split apart by less than a second. With Craig Lamb second and fastest Lincolnshire rider and Ian Dalton third, youngster Jack Savage (Barton Wheelers) recorded a superb time to finish in 4th spot. Not too disillusioned with his ride, Ian told us afterwards ‘I was riding a brand new bike today, but it would not have made any difference to my time and final result’
1 James Ward
(Cambridge CC) 1.58.09
2 Craig Lamb (Alford Wheelers) 2.3.00
3 Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley RT) 2.3.04
4 Jack Savage (Barton Wheelers) 2.3.05
5 Tim Bayely (Artic RC) 2.3.09
6 Andrew Moore (Barton Wheelers) 2.4.07
15 Stuart Blanchard (Cherry Valley RT) 2.27.07
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