Bell and Richardson throw down National Hill Climb markers

Tom Bell beats Andrew Feather to gain psychological edge, reports Snowdon Sports

With new course records up the famous Peak District Mam Nick climb at the weekend, both Tom Bell and Rebecca Richardson marked themselves out as riders to watch at the Hill-Climb National Championships later this month.

Bell, aged 31, finished runner-up in last year’s National Championships, just a single second behind winner Andrew Feather.

However, the High North Performance rider had a confidence-boosting weekend, setting a new course record of 5.37 for the 2.1-kilometre hill with an average gradient of 10.1% – taking 26 seconds off Feather’s previous benchmark time set in 2019.

Former national champion Ed Laverack (Backpedal) finished 29 seconds down in second while last week’s winner on Monsal, Andy Nichols, finished third (6.14).