Ed Laverack won his second British National Hill Climb Championship on Sunday after finally beating his nemesis, Andrew Feather, on Porlock Toll Road. The Welshman climbed the course 1.2 seconds quicker than the quadruple national champion. Although junior boys champion Erza Bateman was marginally faster, Laverack’s blistering 14:32.1 over 6.6km at a 5.5% average gradient ended his seven-year search for a second title.
The success came from a near-perfect race run-up, three wins out of four open hill climbs, a longer-than-usual course that suited his exceptional sustained power, and a tricked-out Scott Addict RC Ultimate.
The Swiss brand says this is its lightest production road bike. Laverack got his down to 5.9kg by swapping in some boutique and more budget carbon parts.
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Mark James photographed the bike as a jubilant Laverack celebrated his victory, so let’s go through the details.
(Image credit: Mark James)
At a claimed 640g for a size medium frame and 270g for the fork, the Addict RC Ultimate is one of the lightest framesets ever made, thanks to Scott’s use of its highest-end HMX-SL carbon. The chrome finish on Laverack’s bike looks stunning, too.
(Image credit: Mark James)
These Brink wheels are something special. Harry MacFarlane rode a 770g set of Brink rim-brake tubulars to win the nationals on Bank Road last year. Although these Velix-Evo 2.0 are heavier at approximately 865g for the pair, that’s still mighty impressive for 37mm deep rims with aerodynamic instead of the very lightest carbon spokes. Brink has minimised weight by stringing only 20 of them on each rim, which is itself made from a monocoque of T1100 high-modulus carbon fibre. Laverack’s choice of these over the shallower, lighter 24mm depth shows his desire to reduce both weight and drag. Yours for about £2,340.
(Image credit: Mark James)
The dimensions of the hooked rim are progressive for such a light wheelset: it measures 23mm internally and 30mm externally, meaning this 700x28c width tyre is on the narrow side. Set up tubeless as it is here, the Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed is one of the fastest-rolling tyres available.
(Image credit: Mark James)
This Gemini Rigel 1x chainring is an exotic piece of bike tech designed for weight-weenie hill-climb builds. With a core made from carbon and teeth cut from 7075-T6 alloy, it weighs a mere 92g or half as much as a SRAM Red aero single chainring. But at about £113, it’s much cheaper.
Laverack went for the 42T version on SRAM Force cranks with a single-sided Quarq power meter. This is a slightly lighter way to measure watts than with a double-sided power meter. He hasn’t forgotten about drivetrain efficiency, as the chain is waxed.
(Image credit: Mark James)
Instead of classic Shimano SPD-SL pedals, Laverack clipped into these SPD-SL-compatible Rock Bros pedals. Claimed to weigh 180g with 52g cleats, they’re a good deal lighter (roughly 70g) than Dura-Ace pedals and cleats combined.
(Image credit: Mark James)
Here’s another look at that gorgeous Chrome Silver colourway (minus the bottle cages, of course).
(Image credit: Mark James)
Little bar tape is seen at hill climbs. A true weight-weenie would have chopped the drops, but Laverack’s sponsor Scott wouldn’t have been too happy with him.
(Image credit: Mark James)
Laverack’s tight gearing consisted of the aforementioned 42T chainring and this 10-26T SRAM Red AXS cassette, the smallest in the range. Machined from a single piece of steel in SRAM’s X-Dome construction, it weighs only 175g. Given Laverack was travelling at an average speed of 27kph, he wouldn’t have needed a larger sprocket.
(Image credit: Mark James)
Removing the front derailleur and mount saves several hundred grams and is a tad more aerodynamic. A mechanic has plugged the hole to stop water ingress.
(Image credit: Mark James)
Despite aerodynamics being a concern on the final headwind section of the climb, Laverack has raised the front end with a full stack of spacers. It looks like about 40mm here. He may have found this height balances aerodynamics with power production.
Because front and rear lights are obligatory in hill climbs, there’s a tiny one looped around the integrated cockpit tops.
