The night that had everything but Nick Trussler…..
The stage was set for a battle royal between Robbie and Lester to see who would be King. The season long KOTM series involves five nights comprising three hills per night. Of the fifteen hills avaliable a rider’s best nine finishes count to the final score.(winning a hill gains one point, second two etc and lowest total wins).
Lester was handily placed on six wins but had not cycled for two weeks due to what some of the ladies called ‘manflu’, he also ‘bonked’ in the roadrace at Gifford on Sunday. (but was saved by a brownie (don’t ask))
Robbie had three wins but is ‘a big unit’ and maybe not best suited to the hills. So it was that ten AT riders set out on Tuesday for the final showdown.
The hills were longer than usual giving everyone a chance to lead the peleton before getting swamped as the finish neared.
Hill one was two miles through Lintlaw with a steep finish at Crossgateha’, Robbie edged Lester by the width of a tyre to keep his hopes alive with Mike Horne in third.
Hill two was one and a half miler up Rigfoot to Whitchester with a steep start and a long-sapping finishing drag, again Robbie prevailed with Mike nipping in to take second from Lester.
Hill three was from Longformacus up the Hardens to Langtonlees, a beast of a climb measuring three miles. The main protagonists accelerated, decelerated, track standed, played possum but in the end Robbie took his third hill of the night.
The series is now tied with the tiebreak due next Tuesday after the club championship hillclimb up the cleugh. The minor places will take some sorting out as all the competitors put in maximum effort in their own battles right through the field. Thanks to Robbie for route planning all five nights to give all skills and abilities ‘a square go’ on what are some of the best evenings we have. Also to have the final climb of the series stopping beside a doughnut tree was inspired.