Monsal Hill-Climb has record number of entries for 2017 event

Russell Downing, Monsal Hill-Climb 2016

(Image credit: Andy Jones)

published 20 September 2017

The 2017 edition of the Monsal Hill-Climb has a full entry list of 190 riders, the most that the classic annual event has ever fielded.

The 87th running of the event takes place on Sunday, October 1, and is a mainstay of the short British hill-climb season. Evidently, the race's popularity is still growing and organiser Sheffrec Cycling Club says the age range of competitors this year is six to 56.

The current men's course record was set by former international professional Malcolm Elliott, who posted a time of one minute and 14.2 seconds in 1981.

He had previously beaten the mark set by Tom Simpson in 1957 of 1-23.4. Elliott still regularly appears at the event to present the prizes.

As well as Simpson and Elliott, previous winners have included four-time winner Russell Downing, Adam Blythe, Dean Downing, Graham Briggs, Jack Pullar and last year's winner, Adam Kenway.

Lou Bates set a new women's record of 1-42.8 last year, proving that course records are still up for grabs.

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.