Brickworks = done!
With weather forecasts predicting dark skies and heavy rain, a smaller field of riders signed on to tackle shortened course (due to temporary traffic lights lower down.)
Anyone betting on a washout would’ve lost their money as, thankfully, the weather stayed clear for the event.
Making it a shorter race meant previous pacing went out of the window, with no dip to help before the drag past Kickback Coffee.
Speaking of Kickback, they once again opened their doors and welcomed us with their signature full flavour coffee. Our signature brick trophies were awarded outside the shop once the times had all been checked.
King of the hill for 2026 was Will Tidball, who stormed up in 4:58.0, the only rider to go under 5 minutes. Last year’s champion, Daniel Herterick, gave a valiant defence of the title and came home second in 5:21.0. Rounding out the top 3 was Nicholas Smith in 5:23.0, which saw him claim a brick as fastest Junior.
Lee O’Neill was fastest Wheeler, beating new clubmate Kev Connaghan to the club Hill Climb title. Well done both!
A huge THANK YOU to all the riders and supporters for coming out to race, plus Alan Gibworth for taking photos!
The full photo gallery can be found here.
Results
| Pos | Rider | Club | Time (m:s) | Cat | Cat Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Tidball | Villefranche Beaujolais | 4:58.0 | open|senior | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Herterick | Chorlton Velo | 5:21.0 | open|senior | 2 |
| 3 | Nicholas Smith | Manchester Bicycle Club | 5:23.0 | open|junior | 1 |
| 4 | Eddie Forster | Chorlton Velo | 5:30.0 | open|espoir | 1 |
| 5 | Ed Stubbs | 3C Test Team | 5:37.0 | open|junior | 2 |
| 6 | Rory Wyeth | ESV Manchester | 5:42.0 | open|youth | 1 |
| 7 | James Parkin | Wolf Cycles | 6:24.0 | open|senior | 3 |
| 8 | Paul Whittaker | Stockport Clarion CC | 6:25.0 | open|veteran | 1 |
| 9 | Adam Al-Ausi | N/A | 6:28.0 | open|senior | 4 |
| 10 | Aaron Coates | Chorlton Velo | 6:34.0 | open|senior | 5 |
| 11 | Duncan Birtwistle | Station South CC | 6:58.0 | open|senior | 6 |
| 12 | Khaled Balabil | Holmes Chapel Velo | 7:09.0 | open|veteran | 2 |
| 13 | Warren Jackson | Congleton CC – MyWindsock | 8:06.0 | open|veteran | 3 |
| 14 | Maher Al-Ausi | SKCC | 8:09.0 | open|veteran | 4 |
| 15 | Lee O’Neill | Manchester Wheelers | 8:19.0 | open|senior | 7 |
| 16 | Paul Greenwood | Cheshire Mavericks CC | 8:55.0 | open|veteran | 5 |
| 17 | Kevin Connaghan | Manchester Wheelers | 9:05.0 | open|veteran | 6 |
| – | Laurie Stobbs | Ilkeston Cycle Club | DNS | open|veteran | – |