Cyclists battle it out in Red Bull Hill Chasers on Park Street, Bristol
By AbigailEdge | Sunday, February 19, 2012, 00:11
More than 30 top cyclists pushed themselves to the limit in the second ever Red Bull Hill Chasers event in Bristol on Saturday.
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Red Bull Hill Chasers on Park Street, Bristol
Thousands of people lined Park Street to watch 16 elite and 16 amateur cyclists from BMX, mountain bike, road cycling and fixed-gear battle it out in a series of gruelling head-to-head knock-out rounds.
The fastest time of the day went to Multi World Champion Michel Prokop, who finished the lung-busting 250m hill climb with a time of 18.22 seconds - although ironically he was forced to retire from the Quarter Final with a broken chain.
The overall winner was Ben Simmons, who scooped the final race on a road bike with a time of 18.25 seconds.
Amateur cyclist Ben, aged 25 and from Newport, described himself as "shocked and surprised" at his win - especially as already taken part in another cycle race earlier that day, the Springtime Pursuit in Devon.
"I was worried about having tired legs but luckily it didn't seem to affect me," said Ben, a development coach for Welsh Cycling.
"It's a tough race - I've never taken part in anything as short and punchy as this before but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll be back to do it again next year."
John Whittington came in at second place, followed by Gareth Montgomerie in third.
To see a gallery of photos from the Red Bull Hill Chasers click here.
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Comments
One of the best events in Bristol - what a great night! Well done to Ben, thinking of giving it a go myself next year
By Matt_Gulliver at 12:55 on 19/02/12
Reportoops! apart from pedestrians and cyclists of course.
By LeoJSmith at 11:30 on 19/02/12
ReportPark street, no much nicer without cars revving their way up and down the street.
I think it should be permanently closed to traffic
By LeoJSmith at 11:29 on 19/02/12
Report