Clinton fails to reach the summit

The Balsall Common rider headed into the event he won in 2008 with eight second-placed finishes to his name this year.

And, he again had to settle for the runners-up spot in a repeat of the 2009 result, with Raleigh’s Dan Fleeman pipping him by 6.6 seconds.

The 1,487-yard course, which climbs at an average of ten per cent out of the village of Weston-sub-Edge, provided a fitting end-of-season showdown.

Clinton was one of the last to go out on his fixed-wheel Giant hill-climb bike and, despite clocking the fastest time at the three-quarter mark, he struggled to keep his single gear going as the gradient eased in the last few 100 metres.

Almost bouncing from side to side, the Mike Vaughan Cycles rider forced his way through the tunnel of spectators to finish in 3min 47.7sec, slicing more than seven seconds off the time of previous leader Michael Smith (Corely Cycles).

However, five minutes later, with Clinton still visibly hurting from the effort expended, Fleeman crossed the line.

The reigning champion passed the mid-way split at exactly the same time as Clinton, but pulled out 6.6 seconds over the top half of the climb to push the 25-year-old into second for the second successive year.

“I couldn’t fault my ride,” said Clinton, who has been dogged by equipment mistakes in several of his recent outings.

“At least I can say I’m the most consistent second-placed hill climber in the country!

“With nine second places this year and three wins, I’m a long way off my 2008 best, but the competition’s got harder.

“You can see that, with third to tenth being less than ten seconds apart.”

There was further disappointment for the Kenilworth-based team with Dunchurch youngster George Goodwin seeing victory snatched from his grasp long after the final rider had crossed the line.

The 14-year-old believed he had won his category after coming home in 5min 15.7 sec, only to find the organisers had made a mistake on the start sheet of another rider, nudging Goodwin into second.

Kenilworth rider Mark Powell completed the Mike Vaughan Cycles team, taking 8.3 seconds off his personal best to finish in 5min 34.1sec.

Leamington C&AC rider John Herring won the D category for riders aged 55 to 59 years.

Herring, entering the race for the first time in a career spanning more than 40 years, came home in 5min 15sec.

Baginton’s Mick Ives was the quickest over-70 rider.