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Team Herbalife Wheelbase cyclist Lynn Hamel (third picture above) wins the Lady’s National Hill Climb Championships. Riding the 4.4m course up Long Hill in Derbyshire it was the culmination of a season long effort for Lynn, who won the event by 20 seconds.

“My preparation for this year’s championship has been very different to other years due to the length and rather shallow gradient of Long Hill. Unlike previous years with short steep climbs where a light bike is essential, this year’s hill was as much about aerodynamics as light equipment.
I practiced the hill three times and each time learning from my mistakes of setting out too hard, using too bigger  a chain ring and trying to push too bigger a gear. My training consisted of ten to fifteen minute efforts on the time trial bike, static and using a turbo trainer. Quite different to previous years training on a steep local hill!

Race day arrived – it was sunny and mild at 17 degrees but with a gusty head wind. I planned to split the race into three five minute sections giving each section a colour. First five minutes blue zone for keeping cool and calm. Second five yellow zone for starting to raise the pace and final five, red zone for go, go, go and hold it to the line!

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