Of all the Gala CC course records, surely the 1980 Stow Hill Climb record of 3:28 by Alan Kennedy was the purest and the hardest to beat.

Just human and bike vs gravity.  No advantage from expensive aero gear.

Two thirds of a mile of perhaps the most painful uphill experience available in the Borders

Many of us have tasted our lungs and collapsed on the verge, light-headed, after the finish, but none has beaten Alan’s amazing record – a handful have come very close in recent years, notably our Joe – but tonight it finally happened!

Massive congratulations to Jack Moore, knocking a second off the record, coming in with an amazing 3:27 ride, absolutely fantastic!

Joe was an excruciatingly close second place only 5 seconds adrift and some strong times were posted behind these two mountain goats!

What a competition just below this – look at Duncan/Neil/Arran’s times, one second apart – brilliant!

Well done all nine of you riding and thanks as always to the timekeeper and marshals!