11/10/2026
Zurbaran Racing - Wear Bank Hill Climb – Great Hill Climbers Conquering the Wear Worm!
There is a well known legend around the Wear valley, dating from the 13th century. It relates to the giant worm that burst forth from its captive well as a colossal dragon-like beast, terrorising and devouring the unfortunate local inhabitants.
Against this legendary background, Zurbaran Racing held its annual hill climb. The challenge for the fantastic competitors was to give their maximal effort on the mighty Wear Bank and conquer the Wear Worm!
The 1.1 mile long course starts on the southside of the river Wear in Wolsingham, rising 470 feet to the top of the moors. The climb is initially moderately steep at 10%, before briefly flattening and then kicking up even more steeply for the last 400m.
The field comprised 37 riders, with 35 of them taking to the start line. Alongside local riders, athletes had also arrived from Scotland, Cumbria, Liverpool and Yorkshire to take on the challenge.
Once again, the teams from Muckle CC, Durham Triathlon Club and Durham University Cycling Club were represented strongly, bringing real strength in depth to the event.
So, onto the racing, the day was sunny with a strong wind blowing out of the west, providing crosswind, headwind and some assistance as the course twisted and turned its way up the hill.
In the female category, Eloise Davies (Durham University Cycling Club) took an emphatic win with 7:41.0. Home team rider Lou Hamilton (Zurbaran Racing) was 2nd with 8:07.1, also claiming the prize for 1st female veteran rider. 3rd place on the female podium went to Freya Garside (Durham University Cycling Club) in a time of 9:05.7.
The prize for 1st junior went to Daniel Binks (Ferryhill Wheelers) with an excellent 6:39.7. Simon Binks (Ferryhill Wheelers), Daniel’s dad, also won the spot prize, so a good day for the Binks family!
The open category was won in a record-breaking ride by Adrian Armstrong (Muckle Cycle Club) in a time of 5:02.4. This time was 27 seconds quicker than any known recorded previous time for the course, so massive well done to Adrian! John Bowman (Muckle Cycle Club) was 2nd overall and 1st veteran with a time of 5:13.7. The open podium was completed by Oscar Billing (Durham University Cycling Club) with a time of 5:21.9.
A massive thank you to Gill Pearce for organising the event and to all marshals, time-keepers and pushers-off. A special mention also goes to Mark Brownless for the excellent banging sounds on the hill and for all photography.
Thank you to the Charles Attwood Club in Wolsingham for providing an excellent and welcoming venue for the event, really appreciated.
Finally, well done to all the riders, putting themselves on the line, challenging themselves on the hill and conquering the mighty Wear Bank!
Ian Cooke for superb push off and after event award announcements.
Cosgrove time keeper and keeping us safe
Rachel Cooke number catcher
Poppy Cooke start marshal
Russell Richardson marshal and HQ crew
Ian Gaskins and Louise Hamilton results guys
Marcel Schubert for fab promo, technical stuff and event organising
