Clinton finishes second in National Hill Climb Championships - The Leamington Observer

Clinton finishes second in National Hill Climb Championships

Leamington Editorial 28th Oct, 2014 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

A FULL team of three riders represented Mike Vaughan Cycles at the National Hill Climb Championships in Stocksbridge near Sheffield over the weekend.

Jack O’Neill and George Goodwin put in good performances but it was Matt Clinton who took a record-equaling eighth consecutive medal after finishing second.

Goodwin was the first to tackle the 1,200 yard climb with a gradient averaging 12 per cent despite not having taken part in any hill climbing events in over four years.

The 18-year-old struggled throughout and eventually crossed the finish line in a time of 4:24.6 which placed him 84th overall.




Soon after it was O’Neil’s turn to tackle the climb and he was aiming to finish under four minutes.

Having ridden in the BUCS Student Championship the day before where he placed sixth, O’Neil clearly was not hampered and smashed his target by finishing 25th in 3:54.4.


Last to take on the challenge was Clinton who was hoping to win back his title which was lost back in 2009.

Riding the modified Trek Emonda, weighing at only 5.2kg, Clinton set off looking to regain his title and produced an impressive time of 3:25.5 which was just 2.3 seconds away from the winner Dan Evans.

However Clinton was still able to celebrate an eighth consecutive podium finish with the team finishing third overall.

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