OCTOBER 11, 2003

ONE year after winning the 1999 National Hill Climb Team Championship on The Rake in Ramsbottom, Blackburn CTC gained another team success on the same hill.

Dave Ebbrell, Ian Stott and Carl Helliwell made up the winning Blackburn trio who completed the 945 yard climb of the Rake – with the final section a lung-bursting one in four – in the best combined time.

Ebbrell, from Wilpshire finished the course in second place, just over a second behind winner Sion Jones from North Wales who completed the climb in 2mins 39.9secs.

Stott of Clayton-le-Moors was third in 2mins 44.6secs with Helliwell completing Blackburn’s winning team in eighth place in a time of 2mins 48.3secs.

And they were backed up by Blackburn team-mates Dave Collinge (2 mins 58.9secs), Neil Reynolds (3mins 0.7secs), Paul Smith (3mins 1sec and Chris Edmondson 3mins 4.4secs).

Peter Greenwood of Clayton Velo was the fastest vet in 2mins 55.8secs while youngsters Daniel Ratcliffe, 15 (3mins 54.5secs) and Rob Greenwood, 13, (4mins 31.1secs).