The CTT National Hill Climb 2022 is coming to Llangollen, North Wales, and this post should hopefully contain all of the questions you may have on the event. Organised by volunteers from Velotik Racing and Wrexham Road Club, this year riders will have to tackle the climb locally known as ‘The Old Shoe’.

Junior Men Enter Here

Junior Women Enter Here

Open Men Enter Here

Open Women Enter Here

The Climb

Starting in the village of Pentredwr, the climb ascends at 10.3%, so from the off riders will be pounding the pedals to keep their bikes moving forwards. It begins sheltered by the trees, so it’s worth riders looking out for wet leaves on their way up. As the course starts to open up to the Welsh hills, riders will hit the Red Bull Cattle Grid which is likely to be the primary spot for those pain face photographs.

Riders get a slight recovery as the climb relaxes to 6.2% before the ramp up begins again as the climb wraps its way around the hill side. Riders will pass the Red Bull Music Truck to give them that last bit of motivation to get to the finish just behind Ponderosa Cafe at the top.

The Race HQ

Llangollen Pavilion, Abbey Road, Llangollen, Denbighshire, LL20 8SW

The Race HQ for this year’s hill climb will be the Llangollen Pavilion, which is known for holding International Music Events, so has plenty of place for competitors to park their cars and jump on the rollers to warm up. The Llangollen Pavilion is where the Race Sign On will be.

Race HQ Facilities

• Car Parking
• Camper Van Hook Ups (Limited so need to be pre-arranged)
• Toilets, Showers, Changing Room Block
• Hot and Cold Catering Service
• Cycling Expo in the Pavilion Tent

Cycling Expo

To make the best use out of such a unique Race HQ, a Cycling Expo will take place in the Llangollen Pavilion tent. The current confirmed brands & companies are:

• Red Bull – who will have their Ti-Pi set up for riders to relax in pre and post race.
• Fenwick’s Bike Products – British eco-friendly bike product manufactures Fenwick’s will be on hand to share their bike cleaning and maintenance tips.
• Big Bobble Hat Company – Being in Wales in October means a visit to the Big Bobble Hat stand will be a must.
• Rapha – UK cycling clothing brand known to be used at the extreme end of cycling whether that be in relation to miles or elevation gain.
• BioRacer – a brand popular in the racing scene across many countries, whether it be their standard or custom kit.
• DC Legal – Specialising in cycling accident claims, DC Legal will be there to spread the work of what they do.
• Ryan Morley Coaching – North Wales based cycling coach Ryan Morley will be able to share his knowledge on the best local cycling training routes and how to achieve your goals in 2023.

Race Start Line

Start Line Post Code LL20 8DH

However, the route from the HQ to the start line will be sign-posted from the Race HQ.

There will be a small set-up in Pentredwr Community Centre (LL20 8DG) with Porte-Loos and a bag drop.

To clarify, for hill climbs riders are help upright then let go. There is no ‘pushing off’ from those manning the start line. There is a chock to support the rear wheel however.

Race Rules

• Helmets are now MANDATORY at hill climbs. Any riders who arrive at the start line without one will not be allowed to race.
• Front and rear lights are also MANDATORY.
• No part of the course my be covered on foot. Putting foot down or walking at any point will result in a DQ

More rules will apply as the event follows CTT rules and regulations, so make sure to refer to them before the event. We wanted to highlight the above as they are relatively new.

Qualification

There’s always a lot of angst around qualifying for the National Hill Climb, so hopefully the following puts you at ease so you can put an entry in.

The CTT National Hill Climb will consist of 4 fields:

• Male Junior
• Open Male
• Female Junior
• Open Female

Each field will have a maximum of 150 riders meaning there’s a total event capacity of 600 riders.

If an field is oversubscribed, priority will be given to those who have ridden 3 open hill climb events during the 2022 season.

If another field is undersubscribed, then riders from other fields will be used back fill the free spaces.

In summary, if across the whole event there is less than 600 entries everyone will get a ride.

Another blog post will come soon highlighting some hill climbs in the area, but in the meantime the information can be found on the CTT website.

Spectators

The Old Shoe has some great spectator spots, particularly those accessible by walking down from the Ponderosa Car Park. Ponderosa Cafe Car Park will be accessible by event spectators only. Any competitors found to be using the Ponderosa Car Park will be asked to make their way to the event HQ.

There will be no charge for spectators on the day to spectate/use the car park. The are facilities to buy food at the Ponderosa Cafe, as well as toilets.

Please bare in mind that for events to be held in the area in the future, we need to make sure we cause as little traffic disruption. The locals have been very accepting of the event, despite us closing the road they live on. So please avoid parking in areas that would disrupt any traffic not connected to the event. This becomes particularly important in the event of an emergency where emergency services need to pass quickly.

Leaving the Old Shoe As We Found It

The road being used for the hill climb is surrounded by grassland used by grazing sheep. So please take all rubbish home with you, or dispose of it correctly.

Local Accommodation

Llandegla Fishery – perfect for if you’ve got family members who want to mountain bike whilst in the area as it is right next to the forest.

Llangollen Hostel – cyclist friendly accommodation in Llangollen

Brittania Inn – located near the turn off to the start line, its a perfect base for the hill climb.

Any questions…please ask!

Thanks to Gary Main for all of the photos within this blog post, you can find his Instagram here .

Junior Men Enter Here

Junior Women Enter Here

Open Men Enter Here

Open Women Enter Here

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