Banbury Star CC’s annual hill climb for the Durran Cup maybe a short event with a distance of only 700 metres, but it’s still, depending on your ability, between one and two minutes of hard work and pain. The hill up to Burton Dassett is the venue and a climb the likes of Thomas and Froome will tackle in next month’s Tour of Britain.
The outright record for the climb was set last year by local pro-rider Will Fox at just 59 seconds, with the club record standing at 1.04. A fresh evening breeze blowing up the hill was welcomed by the 25 competing riders, which included representation from 6 neighbouring clubs.
Durran Cup winner Luke Sherlock
Youth came out on top on the night with junior club member Luke Sherlock winning the Durran Cup with a time of 1.06, just 2 seconds off the club record. In second was the impressive 16 year old Harry Kirby on 1.09. Adam Thorpe was a further 2 seconds behind in third, whilst in fourth place Sam Harding tried something different by riding a fixed wheel bike.
For an event that doesn’t normally attract women riders, it was good to see six turn up and produce some close times. This was clearly illustrated by the joint fastest time of 1.38 set by both Naomi de Pennington and Kelly Parker.
Kelly Parker and Naomi de Pennington joint women’s fastest time
Top 10 Results: 1. Luke Sherlock 1.06, 2. Harry Kirby 1.09, 3. Adam Thorpe 1.11, 4. Sam Harding and David McCann 1.12, 6. Tobi Ng and Mark Patton 1.14, 8. Simon Bull 1.16, 9. Graham Martin 1.18, 10. Darren Alexander 1.21