Zeek takes the Speed Trap at Porlock!

October 27, 2026

OCTOBER 25

National Hill Climb Championships: Porlock

Zeek headed to Porlock for the 2026 National Hill Climb Championships, taking on one of the South West’s iconic climbs abord his Scandalous Carbon 50s.

With £250 and a set of exposure lights up for grabs, Zeek had a little extra incentive along the way.

Here's what Zeek had to say:

The 2026 national hill climb champs started with a 4:30am alarm and on the road by 5:30. The aim was getting to Porlock at 8am and parking at the top of the climb then riding down to the HQ to sign on and collect my race numbers and timing chip. The course was due to be closed for practice at 9am so after a bit of socialising and catching up with old friends I set off back up the climb.
I had visited the climb a couple weeks prior in almost identical weather conditions so I knew the conditions would be slow. It had also been a good opportunityto do a hard effort and see where my fitness was. Completing the climb in 19:15 I was happy with the power but a long way off what I would have wanted to aim for going for a sub 18min pb.

After my previous recce ride I shifted my focus onto the speed trap that had £250 cash prize and set of exposure lights up for grabs. The speed trap was a short 10m segment located on the shallowest part of the course, 5.2km up the climb with 1.4km remaining. I knew it would suit me well as the 2-3% gradient benefited my lighter weight and lack of raw power. However with a 35mph headwind when I was due to set off it would also be a technical challenge to get the perfect timing.

Minehead cycling club had done an amazing job sweeping the course with a tractor the day before and they were along the course again during the morning clearing leaf litter from previous nights strong winds. On my practice ride back up the climb I did a few practice sprints along the speed trap to get a feel for the timing and the wind. The speed trap had signed distance markers from 300m every 50m to the finish, with the cattle grid at about 450m to go being the key marker you were getting close.

After finishing my practice ride I had about 40min to get kitted up, numbers pinned on, consume a caffeine gel, swallow some bicarb mix, and ride back to the bottom of the climb. With my faffing around and being undecided on what kit to wear, I ended up having less than 15min before my start and still sat pinning numbers on at the top of the climb. So after a frantic ride back down porlock main road I made it to the start with 45sec remaining but still in my warm winter kit. An even more frantic stripping of layers and I was set off. In the end I had chosen to stay in most of my winter kit with bib tights, long sleeve winter jersey and a very thick snood. Somewhat lacking in aero or weight optimisation but with temperatures sat at 7°C and having struggled in a previous cold wet edition, I didn’t want to risk getting too cold.

I had originally planned on riding at a comfortable 220w up to the speed trap to keep the legs fresh. But with the adrenaline and the great atmosphere ended up pushing a bit closer to 250w. After the cattle grid I began ramping up the power and shifting into the big chain ring ready for the sprint. At 300m I ramped up the power to around 400w and slowly increased it for the next 10sec before fully opening my sprint with 100m to go. Head down sprinting I kept an eye out for the first timing strip for the 10m segment so I knew when to time the bike throw. 925w for 10sec and the speed trap in 0.867 seconds and it was over. After a short rest of the legs I emptied the tank over the last km of the climb and finished with a tired sprint in-front of the early morning crows finishing with a time of 22:43.

By 12:00 the first half of the field had finished and I found myself at the top of the rankings for the speed trap. But with most of top contenders due to start after the lunch break, and winds expected to drop considerably over the afternoon, it was just a tense waiting game.

I spent the rest of the afternoon spectating and enjoying the atmosphere, and of course taking a lot of photos and videos. By the end of the day the nerves were growing, I had heard that a couple of elite riders had attempted the speed trap so my chance of success had diminished. After everyone had finished, the results for the overall classification were announced over the loudspeaker Celebrations began and I was so distracted taking photos that I almost missed the speed trap announcement that I held onto my position and had won the speed trap.

This has definitely been one of the most enjoyable events I’ve participated in, incredible atmosphere on an iconic south west climb.