By Michael Bello
Published 09/17/2020; Updated 05/29/2021

Today was the eleventh and final event in the NCC Zwift Summer Hill Climb/Time Trial Series.

We will start the Fall series in a few weeks. If you are interested in trying the Hill Climb/TT series, please join us. We will all start with zero points.

Alpe du Zwift is a long and challenging climb. It is a copy of the Alpe D’Huez climb, which is often featured in the Tour de France.

The route is 7.59 miles with 22 switch backs. The 8% gradient took us up 3,400 feet of climbing.

With such a massive climb, there were double points on the line this evening. In addition, an extra point was awarded for Strava PRs.

All eight riders participated in the group ride. At the official start time of 5:30, we surprised Jonathan by singing Happy Birthday to him on Discord. John even brought a musical instrument for the occasion.

Here are today’s results:

Place, Name, Time, Speed, Points
1. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Time: 53:42; 8.5 mph; 16 points
2. Eichenlaub, Justin; Time: 61:49*; 7.5 mph; 15 points
3. Bailey, Charlie; Time: 63:39; 7.2 mph; 12 points
4. Condon, Sean; Time: 66:49; 6.8 mph; 10 points
5. Bello, Michael; Time: 69:21; 6.6 mph; 8 points
6. Warwick, Melissa; Time: 70:12; 6.5 mph; 6 points
7. Gorton, John; Time: 81:02; 5.6 mph; 4 points
8. Blake, Teddy; Time: 91:04; 5 mph; 2 points

*Strava PR

Here are the series standings:

1. O’Keeffe, Jonathan; Event(s) 11; Points: 72
2. Bailey, Charlie; Event(s) 11; Points: 47
3. Blake, Teddy; Event(s) 9; Points: 42
4. Weinman, Kevin; Event(s) 7; Points: 30
5. Warwick, Melissa; Event(s) 10; Points: 27
6. Bello, Michael; Event(s) 11; Points: 26
7. Eichenlaub, Justin; Event(s) 2; Points: 20
8. Pair, Jamie; Event(s) 2; Points: 11
9. Condon, Sean; Event(s) 1; Points: 10
10. Gorton, John; Event(s) 4; Points: 8
11. Wilson, Donna; Event(s) 1; Points: 1

Congratulations to Jonathan and Melissa for winning the Summer series. They will each be receiving prizes very soon!

Although we will not officially start the new Hill Climb/TT series next week, I’ll host a ride of some sort.

Here is the NCC Zwift schedule:

– Mon 6:30 PM – Road Race (Follow Jonathan O’Keeffe on Zwift for invite)
– Tue 8:00 PM – Social Ride (Follow Michael Bello on Zwift for invite)
– Thu 5:30 PM – Time Trial / Hill Climb (solo effort, TT bike required – Follow Michael Bello on Zwift for invite)
– Sat 9:00 AM – Social Ride (weather dependent – Follow Michael Bello on Zwift for invite)