A very successful 13th edition of the NCC Mt. Greylock Hillclimb Time Trial was held in North Adams on September 9th. First held in 2010, the race is a yearly NCC signature event and is part of the Bike Up the Mountain Points Series (BUMPS). This year saw the highest Greylock registration numbers since 2016 and we reached our registration cap of 150 riders before registration closed the Monday before the race. We had riders ranging in age from 9 to 83, with many first-time racers as well as seasoned athletes who return year after year.
Northampton Cycling Club had an extremely strong showing with 15 club members registered and a whopping 6 podium finishers (3 women and 3 men). For the women, Lauren Cunniffe placed 1st in the 60-64 division, Cindy White placed 2nd in the 65-69 division and Melissa Warwick placed 2nd in the 45-49 division. For the men, Andy McDonald placed 1st in the 60-64 division, Tim Mahoney placed 1st in the 40-44 division and Mike McCusker placed 2nd in the 70-74 division. Many of our podium finishers have taken part in NCC’s weekly hillclimb/time trial series, congratulations to everyone from NCC who took on this epic challenge.
This year we had 2 race record-smashing times set by female and master’s athletes. Kristen Kulchinsky set the new course record for women 40-44 (actually a course record for all women under 45) with a blistering time of 45:32! She also captured the women’s overall Strava QOM by a whopping 2 minutes 51 seconds. Kristin is a member of the Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY24 women’s pro cycling development team. Craig Fram of Exeter, NH set a new men’s 65-69 age group record with an amazing time of 46:34. Craig beat the previous record, set in 2016, by 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Many of the men’s master’s age groups were extremely competitive this year, we applaud all of our overall and age-group winners. Full results of the race can be found here.
We also celebrate many other personal achievements our racers experienced. One athlete shared that this was their first race back after cancer surgery, another athlete shared that this was her first race ever and she felt an incredible sense of accomplishment after pushing through many thoughts of stopping mid-race. We saw 2 young athletes under the age of 10 riding alongside a parent and we also welcomed members of the Williams College men’s crew who were participating in their first-ever cycling race.
In the hours leading up to the race, we didn’t know if it could even be held, let alone successfully. The weather forecast had shifted hourly all week, with most of the variations not good. The worst possibilities included thunderstorms, heavy rain and wind. We headed up the mountain to set up the course on Friday afternoon, and halfway up it started raining. By the time we reached the summit, it was a full-blown thunderstorm. We sheltered in Bascom lodge for awhile, chatting with two of our racers, and finally ventured out into the rain to finish setting up the course.
When we went to bed Friday night, we anticipated difficult decisions about delaying or canceling the race, and we were also a few volunteers short of a full deck, which would stretch us all too thin.
But by Saturday morning our luck had turned: the forecast had turned dry, and three volunteers had materialized overnight. That set the tone for the rest of the day. The volunteers were fantastic, the riders were excited (and relieved!), and everything came together. We had tons of positive feedback on everything from the course to the food to the t-shirts. And of course, the weather. We’re excited to build on this year’s success in 2024.
– Greylock organizing team (Chris Armen, Tim Mahoney, Donna Wilson, Charlie Bailey)
