Despres' best time will take some beating

LE VAL des Terres, more often shortened to just the Terres, is the classic challenge in the Guernsey Velo Club calendar. The penultimate road ride on the schedule, the hill is one of the most feared, mainly due to its unrelenting gradient.

With conditions poor, it was clear the riders would struggle to beat their personal-best times.

The wind was south-westerly force five, meaning a stiff headwind as soon as the competitors entered the final long straight.

Chris Le Page managed to fend off the expected challenge from British Cycling Talent Team member Jimmy Carling, winning by 3 seconds in a time of 2min. 13sec.

Ann Bowditch warmed up for next month's National Hill Climb Championships with a superb ride, finishing just shy of her female record in 2.34.

Bowditch has been working hard on her hills of late, making many visits to the Terres for training rides.

'I wanted a good ride today to show that my hill training was having an effect. I could tell that certain aspects of my climbing were much improved. This is the first time I have been able to stand all the way up the climb and my general form was better, a sure sign that I have been working on the right areas,' she said.

As Bowditch prepares for her National Hill Climb at the end of the month, she has contacted for advice the person who has held the outright hill record for the past 10 years, Nick Despres.

His record of 1min.

50 sec. has remained unchallenged for another season. Many riders can only dream of breaking the magic 2min. barrier, whereas Despres rarely went over it.

What made his record ride even more impressive was that it was set on a bike considerably heavier than those used today.

Despres used a fixed-gear bike for many of his runs - a machine with only one gear.

Changing gear was more difficult on bikes of the early 90s, with riders having to take a hand off the handlebars and back off slightly to ensure a smooth change.

Despres caught the hill-climbing bug after the event, which was traditionally run as part of the Easter four-day festival, attracted the attention of some of the UK's top climbers.

The climb was usually run in the afternoon after a morning 25-mile time trial.

Expecting the opposition to be tough, Despres took it easy in the morning, saving his efforts for his favoured event.

Very few people took hill climbing as seriously as Despres, who regularly competed in the UK in the end-of-season championships.

Many people will wonder how it is possible to train for hills that are maybe three or four times longer than our local climbs.

This apparent handicap made no difference to the talented athlete, who once finished a major event in second place, being beaten only by the National Hill Climb champion, Stuart Dangerfield, who was a professional rider.