Hill climb tt research

geros29

Hi.club running an hill climb event next year and although we would run sportives this is our first venture into an event like this.what length,gradient and any other requirements?

smurphy29

Sounds fab. Gradient-wise it should be at least 5-6% I think, so it's a proper test of power-to-weight. I don't think it has to be that long. The Leinster hillclimb champs are run on Jenkinstown Hill which is less than 2k, but steep at 8%.

geros29

smurphy29 wrote: »

Sounds fab. Gradient-wise it should be at least 5-6% I think, so it's a proper test of power-to-weight. I don't think it has to be that long. The Leinster hillclimb champs are run on Jenkinstown Hill which is less than 2k, but steep at 8%.

Ok.and do competitors have to come back down to start via different route ie does it have to be a circuit?

smurphy29

I think it's usually ok to roll back down as long as everyone's very careful.

Hi Ho

smurphy29 wrote: »

Sounds fab. Gradient-wise it should be at least 5-6% I think, so it's a proper test of power-to-weight. I don't think it has to be that long. The Leinster hillclimb champs are run on Jenkinstown Hill which is less than 2k, but steep at 8%.

Munster tends to be steeper - 15% this year.

geros29

Hi Ho wrote: »

Munster tends to be steeper - 15% this year.

Any idea of distance in that one?

shaka

We resurrected the Munsters this year. We had run an internal TT last year which gave us a good idea of what was ahead. Commisaire was fairly strict on a few things, disqualified one competitor after a mechanical even after much discussions we couldn't get him to review his decision.

1.1km long, a lot of work but was much easier run than the county one we ran in the week prior . Risk analysis will need to be done . I can't remember but think it had to be at least 6%.

shaka

Btw Munster peaked at 16-17% but only averaged 11 if I remember correctly.

victorcarrera

A suggestion rather than a requirement. To overcome the age bias in favour of younger riders in the fastest vet competition you could give age handicaps as follows.
These seem to work pretty well over 3km @ average 6% but could be modified to whatever distance/gradient you are running. I imagine if you promote this aspect it could also improve the turnout on the day.

Age Handicap
mm:ss
40 00:00
41 00:03
42 00:06
43 00:09
44 00:12
45 00:15
46 00:18
47 00:22
48 00:25
49 00:30
50 00:33
51 00:38
52 00:43
53 00:48
54 00:53
55 00:58
56 01:04
57 01:11
58 01:17
59 01:24
60 01:30
61 01:38
62 01:46
63 01:54
64 02:02
65 02:10
66 02:20
67 02:30
68 02:40
69 02:50
70 03:01
71 03:13
72 03:25
73 03:37
74 03:49
75 04:02
76 04:17
77 04:32
78 04:47
79 05:03
80 05:20

geros29

shaka wrote: »

We resurrected the Munsters this year. We had run an internal TT last year which gave us a good idea of what was ahead. Commisaire was fairly strict on a few things, disqualified one competitor after a mechanical even after much discussions we couldn't get him to review his decision.

1.1km long, a lot of work but was much easier run than the county one we ran in the week prior . Risk analysis will need to be done . I can't remember but think it had to be at least 6%.

Ah right, we have plenty hills around here but we were under the impression they needed to be around 4or 5k long.that's good to hear thanks.

Lusk_Doyle

It can be any length you wish. I've done Swords ones which were 1.8kms, 3kms and in between and also the Nationals which was closer to 15kms. Gradients varying from feck all to quite steep.

Raam

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

It can be any length you wish. I've done Swords ones which were 1.8kms, 3kms and in between and also the Nationals which was closer to 15kms. Gradients varying from feck all to quite steep.

Are you referring to the flat Swords hill climb?

Hi Ho

victorcarrera wrote: »

A suggestion rather than a requirement. To overcome the age bias in favour of younger riders in the fastest vet competition you could give age handicaps as follows.
These seem to work pretty well over 3km @ average 6% but could be modified to whatever distance/gradient you are running. I imagine if you promote this aspect it could also improve the turnout on the day.

Or perhaps just use the new Masters categories as will be on lisences. Presumably this is how the National hill climb champs will be run and it might be better if provincial champs were the same format - numbers permitting etc.

boege

If your going to run a hill climb then by the very nature of the event you are targeting a certain type of cyclist. Natural climbers tend to like longer climbs and the steeper the better. Ryan Sherlock pulled a fairly big turnout by running a long tough climb in Wicklow a couple of years back.

A further comment would be that when event is held can come into play. The Munsters HC champs were ran in mid September this year and despite being well ran did not receive the support they deserved. Too late in a long season was my guess but open to be corrected.

kumate_champ07

how about a 250-500m hill sprint climb ?

kumate_champ07

boege wrote: »

If your going to run a hill climb then by the very nature of the event you are targeting a certain type of cyclist. Natural climbers tend to like longer climbs and the steeper the better. Ryan Sherlock pulled a fairly big turnout by running a long tough climb in Wicklow a couple of years back.

A further comment would be that when event is held can come into play. The Munsters HC champs were ran in mid September this year and despite being well ran did not receive the support they deserved. Too late in a long season was my guess but open to be corrected.

skinny!

a short hill sprint would make it more interesting and attract different riders, they do them in Japan and I think UK too

nak

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

skinny!

a short hill sprint would make it more interesting and attract different riders, they do them in Japan and I think UK too

The Catford Hill Climb has been running for years; short and steep: http://www.catfordcc.co.uk/hillclimb/about.aspx?sm=16_1

The longer it is, the more it starts to suit powerful TT riders (especially if gradient isn't very steep). Hill climbs are generally run at the end of the season and Catford attracts huge crowds.

Kilmashogue is perfect for a hill climb and a good few came out to watch the nationals when it was held there.

Raam

nak wrote: »

Kilmashogue is perfect for a hill climb and a good few came out to watch the nationals when it was held there.

Yeah that was awesome!

lennymc

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

skinny!

a short hill sprint would make it more interesting and attract different riders, they do them in Japan and I think UK too

Sprint climb. That would be a lot more appealing to me than a longer one.