Both the overall and female course records were smashed in Round 4 of the SB Sports Injuries Series on a windy evening in Wrekinsport CC’s Hannah Phipps-Jones 18. Held on a reserve course between Shawbirch and Hodnet, the last time this had had to be called into use was in 2022 – but the records both date back even further to 2020. Tomos Hales took a huge win in 38 minutes 8 seconds to knock 21 seconds off the record of the rider who finished as runner-u on the night, Dan Watts; whilst Hayley Wells continues to break records with a fabulous 42:24, slicing 50 seconds off Deb Hutson-Lumb’s benchmark.
There was a surprise in store for the winner of Round 1 of the Denso and Tern Cycles Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport, Oli Freeman as Ben Wood took an unexpected win in Round 2, again held on the Long Lane circuit. Wood was already up by 11 seconds at the 2½ mile point, stretching his lead to 21 seconds by the end, coping best with the tricky conditions. Wood stopped the watch on 23 minutes 17 seconds, with Freeman taking the runner-up spot in exactly a minute off his Round 1 effort in 23:38.
Heavy rain a couple of hours before the event thankfully abated, and the course dried rapidly thanks to an intense and chilly 17mph south-westerly wind that hampered progress along the half mile Long Lane stretch.
There was the welcome sight of three visiting riders training at RAF Shawbury as Luke Brookes won the Road Bike event in 24:30 to take third spot overall, and taking the honours for the RAF over Royal Navy & Royal Marines colleagues Jake Saleg and Hassan Nada. Best placed of Wrekinsport’s riders was Rich Smith in 26:52, again, exactly a minute down from his Round 1 effort showing how hard things were. The lone female Deb Hutson-Lumb, riding for Legato RT, finished a strong 6th overall in 25:50.
The Denso and Tern Cycles Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport kicked off with a fine win by Oli Freeman on the tight Long Lane course, coping best with the technical 3.75 course circuit which was called into use as reserve. Freeman beat a good field of 18 riders to take the win in 22 minutes 38 seconds ahead of Paramount’s Chris Riley 1:02 back. Freeman was already noticeably faster at the 2½ mile point on a dry if slightly chilly evening.
Tim Burn took the final podium slot in 24:23, also helping himself to an impressive win in the popular Road Bike category, with 11 riders taking on the biggest growth area in the sport. Burn crossed the line in 24:23, 1:04 ahead of Matt Price.
There was only one female in competition on the night, with Beth Tomlinson taking the opportunity to make a first ever appearance, beating the 20mph/30 minute benchmark by five seconds.
The opening round of the Wrekinsport club season saw the first; and supposedly only appearance of the season of former club member Ben Southgate before RAF duties spirit him away. The 19 year-olds’ training has clearly been beneficial as he took a strong win of 10 minutes 50 seconds on a road bike around the fast and furious Admaston – Bratton – Allscott 5 mile circuit, beating Oli Freeman by 12 seconds.
Freeman took the spoils for the promoting club ahead of team mate Ben Wood by 17 seconds in an event attracting a great turn out of 20 riders looking to shake off the winter cobwebs. However, the event wasn’t without incident, as despite the course being well publicised pre-race five riders managed somehow to go to the wrong start location, which meant start timekeeper Deb Hutson-Lumb had to keep a cool head to reschedule them on the fly when they eventually realised: a baptism of fire for her first experience of timekeeping.
The Overall and Female course records were smashed in the opening round of the 2026 Friction Hydraulics Series, with Kirk Vickers knocking 41 seconds off Thomas Bill’s benchmark; and Hayley Wells slicing 1 minute 46 seconds off her own female course record, both set in 2025. And there was further reason to celebrate for organisers Wrekinsport CC in their Chris Edwards Hilly 17 promotion as the entry level leapt 45% – with road bikes making up 62% of the field in the fastest-growing sector of time trialling.
Just three years ago the club was thinking of pulling the plug on this event with entries in the teens; but a change to the new Atcham – Ironbridge bypass course, along with the road bike initiative saw a strong field of 51 making the best of a fine, if slightly chilly early spring day. Featuring an actual hill climb course within it, this race was a natural to attract hill climbing specialists, with current and former Shropshire Champions well represented – as well as the welcome sight of a travelling double National Hill Climb Champion.
Four time BBR Champion Kirk Vickers riding for Holohan Coaching took a solid win to become the first ever rider below 40 minutes, stopping the watch on 39 minutes 26 seconds in his first ever attempt at the course. He had an advantageous draw however, starting one minute behind 2022 BBR Champion Tomos Hales – something that spurred on both riders to greater heights both metaphorically and in actuality as Vickers fought hard to reel Hales in. He stated: “I really enjoyed the undulating course, exactly my kind of effort. It was a chilly day, but the legs felt good. Well done to everyone who rode, it was a great turnout”.
Hales knew he was in for a battle, commenting about the field layout in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but there was little doubt that it meant he was going to strain ever sinew to stave off the challenge and knocking a huge 1:41 off his 2025 effort in the process, finishing runner-up in 40:45. Newly signed for Aerologic, Hales had a plan the make Vickers work for it, and crossed the finish line just 19 seconds later. He commented: “I was keen to improve my time from last year on this new course. The plan was to try to hold him off until at least half way point, and to attack on each climb. I felt really good, but not good enough to hold off Kirk who caught me up the climb to Leighton on the return. Well done to him with an awesome time on a relic of a time trial bike, it just shows you need good legs to win and set a course record! Thanks for Wrekinsport for hosting; and great numbers of entries for the first time trial of the year”.
The privilege of attracting 2014 and 2017 National Hill Climb Champion Dan Evans to Shropshire was a real bonus for the event, as he won the Road Bike category overall in 41 minutes exactly. Marshals at the foot of the Ironbridge bypass reported watching in awe as Evans tackled the climb visibly faster than any other competitor. The question was – why would a National Champion be attracted to travel? Evans explained: “I really enjoyed the course; it was a nice flowing route with the obvious sting in the tail up to the turn. I appreciated the lack of traffic too; it was nice and quiet out on the roads. I’m trying to focus on some road bike time trials this year with one eye on the British Hill Climb up Porlock Toll at the end of October. That’s a real TT type effort, so it’s an area of my riding that I need to concentrate on”.
Taking the Road Bike honours for Shropshire was Dave Scott Coaching’s James Pearce, crossing the line in 42:01 and taking 1:14 out of another Holohan Coaching rider, Chris Pook. Pearce’s sights were set slightly further a field though, as his sole goal was to beat another four-time BBR Champion, the current holder and owner of his team – Dave Scott, in a friendly rivalry. Pearce stated: “The plan was simple – go hard on the way out, go even harder up the climb, and then go hard again on the way back! I finished second overall in the road bike category, which is OK. Clearly I should have pushed harder, so I’ll remember that for next time. But most importantly – I still managed to beat Dave Scott, which is really the only metric that matters!” Scott ended his afternoon on 44:04.
The Female record was shattered by 2024 BBR Female Champion Hayley Wells, also making her second attempt at the course. With a benchmark of 46:16 from 2025 to beat, she did that easily, throwing herself across the finish line in 44:30 for 9th SCCA overall, a fabulous result. Wells is clearly on form right from the off, but revealed that this course plays to her strengths: “It was great to be back racing on Shropshire roads. Hilly time trials suit me well, so the slog up Buildwas Bank was a welcomed challenge! I felt strong, and paced this rolling course well – great motivation to start the season!”
But things didn’t go as well for Simon Romei, the 2025 event winner as a mistake at the turn cost him time he had worked hard to gain by battling into the modest headwind. With a turn at the top of Jiggers Bank, Romei somehow took the turn a junction early and had to frantically turn around after realising, aided by shouts from the marshals, showing the red mist and narrow focus that can descend during competition. Fortunately for Romei the estimated 15 seconds he lost correcting his course didn’t cost him the Veteran’s win – just – as he kept Pook out by a solitary second, finishing with +1:33 to Pook’s +1:32. Romei expressed a mixture of disbelief and relief when told he had still managed to secure the win, commenting: “I was super happy to have secured first Veteran, what a great, testing course this is. I went out pretty hard knowing it was going to be a tail wind back in. I went super hard up Buildwas Bank, which in turn made me have a lapse in concentration and I took the wrong exit off the island! I really did have to dig deep to get back on track. Also I’d like to say massive thank you to the timekeepers and marshals who did a fantastic job of arranging this event and running a safe race. The cakes were great back at HQ”!
The first use of the new ‘Best Score’ method of gaining Top Club Award points showed graphically the major contribution Road Bike riders, Females – and potentially Juniors – can make to this competition, with Paramount gaining 375 points, ahead of Dave Scott Coaching on 240.
A tough evening saw the final medals decided in the Denso and Tern Cycles Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport as the 14th round saw riders having to cope with a stiff westerly wind that made things difficult on the hardest part of the course – the climb of Cotwall Bank. Times were well down on usual, evidenced by the winning time of 23 minutes 1 second recorded by Oli Freeman, which saw him move into the overall Silver medal position at the last gap, overtaking Ben Wood. Freeman’s nearest competition came from a great effort by Ian Laverie, finishing in 23:30.
All interest was on the Road Bike competition, which has been keenly fought this season. Won overall by Wolverhampton Wheelers CC Junior Tom Oxley in 24:31, good enough for 3rd overall; It was a straight head-to-head between Peter Jukes and Allan Henderson, with Jukes edging out Henderson by 24 seconds in 26:04 to win Silver outright by just two points, whereas a reversal would have seen them share that medal. However that didn’t stop Matt Price taking the Road Bike honours among the Wrekinsport contingent on the night in 25:25, missing out on a medal by five points.
With no females in competition on an evening attracting a modest 11 riders the Silver medal went to Victoria Doran whilst Bronze was taken by Karen Sherriff. Meanwhile in the inaugural 2-Up competition Dave Moore made it a brace. After riding most of the season with Price he rode a final event with a different partner, Dave Seager to win both Silver and Bronze.
Denso and Tern Cycles Evening 10 Series by Wrekinsport No.14
Riders pointed their bikes skywards in the opening round of the BBR Hill Climb Series as Dave Scott took a narrow win in Round 1: Wrekinsport CC’s climb of Willomoor Bank – and female winner Hayley Wells lowered a club record that had stood for 12 years. Heading from the foot of The Wrekin towards Little Wenlock; the one mile course changes gradient frequently on the approach before ramping up to 15% after the final bend – not that that fazed Scott who stopped the watch on 3 minutes 38 seconds in a strong opening defence of a Championship he has made his own for the last two years, pushing out Tomos Hales by two seconds. Scott sounded an ominous warning to competitors with a course personal best, helped by a northerly tailwind. He commented: “It was nice to kick off the hill climb season with a personal best on the Wrekin. I paced it conservatively for the first half and finished strong up the steep ramp, which was the aim. I’m looking forward to another close battle with Tomos throughout the Series”!
Hales took runner-up spot and is looking for a strategy to overhaul Scott, who beat him by just two points in 2024 – the narrowest margin possible. Part of that strategy was giving a dedicated hill climb machine its first outing in anger; a type of steed with every weight-saving selection keenly researched and sought out to gain advantage given times are often split by fractions of a second. Hales was grateful for encouragement from club mates yelling encouragement and ringing cow bells, often associated with supporters on hill climbs. He stated: “My favourite hill climb of the year. My first attempt on it with the hill climb bike, and it felt good. I managed to save some for the steep finish, but definitely faded near the top. Well done to Dave with the win; and to the Wrekinsport guys that put on the show. It was nice to have a tail wind this year”.
Third place went to Junior winner Alex Hart of Mid Shropshire Wheelers in a discipline tailor-made for youngsters, who have the energy, weight advantage and often the audacity to take on climbs older riders struggle with as if they were nothing. Hart crossed the line in 3:44, the only other rider to beat four minutes; and is looking forward to later rounds after a short absence in this best 5 from 10 Series. He was generous in his comments about the quality of opposition stating: “I had a good ride against some tough opposition with great times by Dave Scott and Tomos Hales. I had forgotten how hard the hill climbs are! I’m going to miss the next couple as I’m in France riding downhill, but will be back to continue the battle; thanks to all the helpers who make these possible”.
Hart wasn’t the only rider who commented on the short-term pain for long-term gain prevalent in this format as Female winner Hayley Wells lowered Karen Summers’ 2013 Wrekinsport club record by 16 seconds to reset the benchmark to 4:28 in a superb opening defence of her BBR title, with closest challenge coming from Tammy Lewis-Jones of Clwb Beicio Egni Eryri in 4:55. Wells commented: ”The pain of hill climbs never get easier! Having ridden this climb a couple of times before I had a game plan; and with 90% tailwind it was going to be a quick night. Setting off strong and taking a small recovery in the middle allowed me to execute a solid ride which I’m proud of. An honour to not only take the win, but also hold a new club record; many thanks to Wrekinsport for a wonderful short, sweet evening of racing”.
In the Veterans classification the overall win was taken by regular visitor to Wrekinsport events, Hamish Maclean of Musselburgh RCC; with the County win taken by Wrekinsport’s Chris Dunn in 5:16. Maclean was surprised at winning on his first attempt at the course: “I was really surprised to be first Veteran – hill climbing isn’t normally my thing. It was a great event on a nice course. I didn’t pace things very well and had far too much left at the end. Thanks go to all the officials, marshals and bell ringers, a great night, I really enjoyed it”; Dunn has plenty of experience of the course however as a regular training route, but here he excelled himself with a personal best: “I have been riding that climb for a number of years now and according to my Strava times this was my best time up that hill; although on the day it felt like I had gone off to hard at the start, I managed to hold on to get a good time for me. All in all it was a great ride if a little tough, but I enjoyed it”.
The first medal of the 2025 SB Sports Injuries Series was sealed in Round 12, the Wrekinsport CC Gordon Davies 19 held over two laps of the Shawbirch – Cotwall Bank circuit as Hayley Wells took Female Gold with four rounds still remaining. Wells has been a dominant presence throughout the season and also tightened her grip on the Overall Bronze medal position with an excellent effort of 44 minutes 11 seconds, helping herself to fourth spot on the evening and taking her ninth win from her ninth event in the SB Sports Injuries Series, retaining her title. Wells’ total of 186 points gives her an unbeatable lead of 116 points with a maximum 80 remaining.
Wells opened with comments on how her race went before moving on to that impressive medal win: “I was conscious not to overcook it on the first lap. I set out at a sensible pace with the intention to ramp it up. Sadly not enough gas for a negative split, but control was maintained! It was a lovely evening of racing with a good turnout of riders; many thanks to Wrekinsport. I do love the variety of courses the SB Series offers across the season. Being able to race on some roads across the county we only use once or twice a season keeps things interesting and a great test! I was chuffed to have taken the overall Female Gold for this Series; special thanks to all the promoting clubs throughout the year who continue to allow each race to go ahead”.
Dean Callister took an impressive overall win in 39:58, coping best with changeable conditions that saw the wind turn mid-event on a warm evening even though his time was down 33 seconds from Round 4 held on the same circuit. This pushed SB Series leader Tomos Hales into the runner-up spot despite bettering his Round 4 effort by 40 seconds to narrow the gap. Callister was pleased with his efforts, stating: “Good conditions again this year for this course, but slightly more wind than last time which definitely picked up on the second lap. My legs felt good, so I was happy with my effort and pleased to win; thanks to Wrekinsport for putting the event on”. Callister however had not had the best preparation, mistakenly thinking the race started at 7pm rather than it being advanced to 6:30pm due to available light, and missed his planned start time as a result, having to go off at the back of the field, whilst fortunate to avoid a late start penalty due to the more relaxed format here, but which is standard in Open events.
Hales stretched his lead slightly in defence of the SB title against the same rider who pushed him hard in 2024, Jonathan Mills-Keeling with his 41:07 ride and now holds a 50 point lead. He definitely noticed the strengthening wind and the change of direction to the north along the A442 mile straight towards the finish at Long Lane, a stretch that has to be navigated three times on this version of the circuit. He commented: “I do like the challenge of the Wrekinsport 2-lap 19 mile time trial The first lap seemed rather quick; however the wind direction changed for the second and was really in my face up Cotwall Bank. It also felt like a long slog up the finishing straight of the A442. Well done to Dean for a cracking time, even though he thought it was a 7pm start! Also thanks to Wrekinsport and all the marshals”.
Mills-Keeling took third spot overall in 43:23 and extended his lead at the head of the SB Veterans Series by six points with +8:03, but ended his race frustratingly stuck behind a slow moving artic, which thankfully didn’t affect his position on the night. The Aerologic rider is the third defending a title successfully, albeit with a slimmer eight point advantage over John Westhead who took fourth Veteran on the night with +3:53, behind the Wrekinsport pair of Clive Middleton and Ian Laverie in +7:46 and +6:58 respectively. Mills-Keeling stated: “Nice to see some friendly faces at the Wrekinsport 19. A decent first lap but got held up on the second lap bit which was disappointing, but it’s just the way it is in open roads. I was pleased with third overall and first Veteran”.
In the SB Road Bike Series Dan Watts made an impression in his second appearance of the season to take his second win. Watts stopped the watch on 46:08 to beat Matt Price who registered an adjusted 47:17 in this handicapped competition, but suffered as the temperature sizzled and the wind rose: “With the heat and the wind on Cotwall Bank it made it feel like riding into a hairdryer. The first lap was tough, but the second lap really pushed me to my limit, so I was happy to bring home the Road Bike win. Great rides again by Dean and Tomos; it’s been a great season-long battle to watch from afar; and kudos Hayley for a short 44 on that course”.
In the SB Junior Series Newport’s Ben Bramford-Hale crossed the line in exactly 46 minutes to knock 52 seconds off his Round 4 effort and chalk up a 40 point lead in this Series. The 15 year-old has got better and better as the season has gone on, often riding the one lap version of this course, and had words of thanks to the organisers of the regular club series: “Happy with the time overall, and it’s good to have that improved since the last 19 mile time trial I raced on this course earlier in the season. I’ve really enjoyed racing the time trials this year, and it is great to be leading the SB Junior Series. Massive thanks to the Wrekinsport organisers and volunteers to putting on the weekly events through the season”.
