NEXT Sunday, the National Championship Hill Climb will be promoted by the Bolton-based Lancashire Road Club on the famed climb of the Rake in Ramsbottom.

Event secretary Peter Graham, himself a previous National Champion at the discipline in 1958/61/62, has received maximum entry of 120 riders plus 10 reserves for this major event.

The Rake is a relatively short hill for such a contest being only 947 yards long, but the gradient in parts is a very steep one-in-four and although the winning time will be only a little over two minutes, it will demand an extreme effort from all of the competitors.

The Blackburn and District CTC are well represented with Chris Lee going off number four, Ian Stott number 10, Dave Ebbrell number 15, Neil Reynolds number 17, Carl Helliwell number 67, Jon Steer number 76 and Paul Smith number 112. The Clayton Velo Club have two competitors with Bill Belcher going number 69 and Peter Greenwood number 72. The Rossendale Road Club are represented by Steve Walton off number 74.

The first rider starts from the centre of Ramsbottom at 12.31pm with the rest following at one minute intervals with reigning Hill Climb champion Jim Henderson bringing the activities to a climax by going last man off at exactly 2.30pm.

An additional incentive for the winner this year is £500 prize value or £250 per minute and a Rolex watch if the course record time of 2mins 14secs is beaten.

The Hill Climb Championship is traditionally the place to be for cyclists at the end of the road racing season and many spectators can be expected on the Rake on Sunday.

Why not join them and enjoy a taste of the atmosphere for no charge.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.