Calum Brown (Cycles In Motion) won the Catford Hill Climb Classic 2019 title, beating Jack O'brien (Rapha Cycling Club) by 5.3 seconds in the 'oldest continuing cycle race in the world'.
He recently also won the Monsal Hill Climb 2019, successfully defending his title, while Olivia Webb (Eastbourne Rovers CC) was the fastest finishing woman, the female veteran completing the course in 3-01.3.
Brown's time of 1-49 was just shy of the 1-47.6 record, set in 1983 by Phil Mason (San Fairy Ann CC), with his club offering up a £250 prize to the rider who eventually beats it. Although he didn't beat the record, Brown still walks away with the £300 prize for coming first.
Bill Bell (Bigfoot CC) was the fastest finishing male veteran, 1-17.8 slower than Brown, while Amy Marks (Team LDN) was the fastest female senior, and Alice Gilmore and Theo Tadros (trainSharp) the highest-placed female and male juniors.
The Catford Hill Climb is 707 yards long, with an average gradient of 12.5% including two sections that reach 25%.
The first edition of the Catford Hill Climb Classic was in 1886, and with the exclusion of the war years has been run annually up to the present day.
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Calum Brown at the Catford Hill Climb 2019 (@fatblokesonbikes/Iain Sisson)
Result
Catford Hill Climb 2019: 707 yards at 12.5%
1. Calum Brown (Cycles In Motion) Male Senior, in 1-49
2. Jack O’brien (Rapha Cycling Club) MS, at 5.3 seconds
3. Craig Rogers (Cambridge University CC) Male Espoir, at 5.4s
4. Ewan Tuohy (Dartford Road Club) MS, at 6s
5. James Hayward (Woolwich CC) MS, at 6.3s
6. James Lowden (Lewes Wanderers CC) MS, at 10.7s
7. Tom Rowing (Abellio – SFA Racing Team) MS, at 11.8s
8. Harvey Weinberger (AS Test Team) ME, at 12.5s
9. Mark Aldred (Kingston Wheelers CC) MS, at 13.6s
10. Theo Tadros (trainSharp) Male Junior, at 14.9s
Others:
16. Bill Bell (Bigfoot CC) Male Vet, at 1-17.8
100. Olivia Webb (Eastbourne Rovers CC) Female Vet, at 102.3
102. Haddi Conant (Datalynx-Parenesis Cycling) Female Espoir, at 102.9
115. Amy Marks (Team LDN) Female Senior, at 116.6
121. Alice Gilmore (Brighton Mitre CC) Female Junior, at 1-52.4
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Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
