Hill Climb £1,000 First Prize Announced
25th September 2009
1st prize will again be a massive £1,000.00 which is not bad for less than 2 minutes effort on a 700yard course, and the team prize for (a bona fide, CTT registered ) team of 3 will again be £900.00
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Some hill climbs boast a long and colourful history, some have gruelling gradients that are talked about in revered tone throughout clubrooms the length and breadth of the country, whilst others claim to have the richest prize list in the UK.
Ok, the event is only 54 years old, our course might not be as challenging as some of the big Northern Climbs, but we feel pretty confident in saying the Bec event sets the bar for atmosphere. The noise and enthusiasm that the hordes bring to the slopes of White Lane, near Limpsfield, Surrey is something to be witnessed, and many competitors comeback year on year just to get the 'buzz' from the shouts of the spectators urging them onward and upward in their lung bursting efforts to record a good time when they cross the line.
The Bec CC are unashamedly proud of its reputation for organising a good event for the supporters, as well as riders, and its ability to draw a wonderfully enthusiastic crowd to witness the competitors efforts. One supporter described it a couple of years back as the 'Carnival on the Climb' it is a title we hope to live up to again in 2009.
- 11th October.
- 2.00pm.....
- White Lane (known as Titsey to Bikies) , nr Limpsfield, Surrey .
- Be there, make some noise, or better still ride the event.
Closed Roads
This year, those very nice people at Tandridge District Council have once again granted the Bec C C a fully closed road for the event, and the Councils Chairman, Councilor Glynis Whittle will be coming along to witness her first Hill Climb, as well as present the prizes. The council have also very generously donated some cash to the event, and are also informing local press and media in an attempt to help the event attract other interested parties other than just us cyclists, and also to try and enhance the event in future years. Their valuable input is very much appreciated.
MC's
The course will again have a very efficient PA system along its length to keep all the spectators informed and whip em up into a frenzy, and the job of being on the Mic is being hotly fought over this year by the McCrossnan brothers Anthony and Martin, and virgin Hill climb commentator, but Cyclevox work Colleague of the brothers Mc, Brian Smith. Who will win, to take the honour of chattering at such a prestigious event?.
Cafe du Bec
The famous 'Cafe du Bec' tea stall, will once again be stacked with cakes, sandwiches, teas, coffees etc etc to keep the hordes of hungry supporters (and riders) in fine fettle. Although this year we are going to experiment with moving the Marquee a little further down the hill (amongst the trees) instead of its more traditional finish line siting. This is mainly to try and free up some of the congestion of so many hungry and thirsty spectators blocking the views of the timekeepers who work hard to record an accurate time.
Prize List
As for the prize list at this 2009 edition of the 'Carnival on the climb' the organiser Garry Beckett has struggled to finance a fully cash prize list as has been distributed in previous years, mainly due to personal economic pressures as has beset a lot of us! But with the generous help and support of several sponsors the £2,220.00 prize list of past years is set to improve and be somewhere in the region of £2,500.00
1st prize will again be a massive £1,000.00 which is not bad for less than 2 minutes effort on a 700yard course, and the team prize for (a bona fide, CTT registered ) team of 3 will again be £900.00
Other prize categories i.e 2nd, 3rd, Junior, Veteran, Ladies, beating of event record and Lantern Rouge will be in product or equipment format. (At the time of going to press, we were waiting final confirmation from one sponsor on their input) But we will confirm prizes will DEFINITELY be no less than in previous years, and will be updated and published as soon as the necessary information is received
Sponors
Sponsors for 2009 are : 'Big' Dave, who runs Sharman Building, a Bec C C ex bikie who takes on all forms of building work including high quality extensions and loft conversions. He is also a very gifted joiner so please check him out at www.sharmanbuilding.co.uk
Ron Keeble, MD and owner of Gem Hygiene also now has a company called Gem Composites, which is importing and supplying high quality Carbon Wheels and components under the edge label which have been ridden by many top pro tour riders this year www.gemhygiene.co.uk and www.gemcomposites.co.uk
Grant Young, owner of Condor Cycles, London has very generously donated some equipment to the prize list his website can be visited at www.condorcycles.com/ to view all the goodies they have available. As has Simon Mottram, MD and founder of Rapha (who are so much more than just a clothing company) by adding to the list of event benefactors www.rapha.cc for some of the coolest bike gear on the planet.
Entry
And finally, finally, finally, once again the postal service (why do they always do it this time of year !!!) has thrown a spanner in the works and delayed several entries. Some may well be languishing in a dark corner of a sorting office never to be seen again. So if you have entered and your names (or your clubmates) are not on the 'received so far' list on the Bec Website, it means the organiser has NOT yet received it SO PLEASE CHECK, to avoid any disappointments.
Also if your entry is sent by the 'Registered or signed for' services, please remember that the organiser has a day job too and may well not be able to collect from the sorting office due to time constraints and the limited opening hours of the local branch. A certain team tried to pull that one sending an entry in late at the last minute in 2008 and then got pretty p---ed off, when the organiser refused their entry, branding him the "most unhelpful" etc etc official in the UK, and posting it on several forums for all to read, which did not really place them at the top of his list for bothering to enter again.
Contact
As well as info via the Bec Website, Garry Beckett the organiser can be contacted on 07802 898 259, or at Garrybeckett1@aol.com which obviously at this late stage would be the most efficient path to take.