The 2024 Struggle Hill Climb delivered an electrifying day of action as cyclists tackled the relentless ascent of Kirkstone Pass, a climb notorious for its steep gradients and unforgiving terrain. This year’s edition of the event drew competitors from across the UK, each determined to conquer one of the most challenging hill climbs in the UK.
With VOOM Nutrition supporting athletes along the way, the race offered a perfect blend of endurance, grit, and fuelling strategy to help riders push past their limits and reach new heights. We caught up with Team VOOM's Miranda Clements and Cameron Spiers to find out how they go on.
Tell us a bit about your backgrounds?
Photo credit: @bakergillard
I graduated from uni last summer having spent most of my sporting career so far as a rower with cycling filling the off season as a bit of cross training. Since graduating I’ve dropped the rowing and focused on cycling which is a little easier to fit around work. This is my first season racing on the bike and I’ve loved it so far. - Cameron
Photo credit: @clements.riley
I also graduated from uni last summer and spent most of the time rowing when I was there. However, in my final year I switched to cycling and modern pentathlon and during this time got introduced to hill climbs. I now find cycling, with a sprinkle of running, easier to fit around my job.
When did you decide the Hill Climb was on your 2024 calendar?
Towards the later stages of summer when our local crit races were finishing up and I started looking for the next race to aim for. - Cameron
Decided to do the hill climb a similar time to Cameron, towards the end of the summer but the idea of doing the Struggle was first mentioned back in July at a rowing regatta! - Miranda
Why is The Struggle Hill Climb So Popular?
I’ve always been a pretty competitive person so when I got into racing on the bike I thought I’d have a look for the toughest hill climb out there. The Struggle fit the bill, being longer and steeper than many other hill climbs out there. - Cameron
What drew me to the Struggle was the difficulty of the climb. We are very lucky in South Wales with lots of amazing climbs but the Struggle is quite different and a good challenge to do. Hill climbs tend to be fun events to be part of, with a great atmosphere and this one did not disappoint. - Miranda
What has your training looked like for The Climb?
I live in Cardiff which has a great mixture of hills, some short steep ones and some longer ones with fun switchbacks. Local rides up these at various paces made for great prep. The weekend before the race I competed in the local Cardiff hill climb to get race ready. - Cameron
Had been very busy with work in the run up to this event so did not manage to fit in as much specific training as I had hoped but a couple of weeks before we had our local hill climb that I took part in to help prepare. - Miranda
What was the biggest challenge, and why?
The gradient! Some sections were brutally steep, trying to find the right balance of staying on top of your cadence without spending too much energy was difficult. - Cameron
Like with Cameron, the gradient was the biggest challenge especially how steep it was right off the start. It meant that straight off you had to attack the climb to keep on top of the cadence and then on the small decent we were met with a headwind which made it feel steeper than it was! - Miranda
What was your favourite part/aspect?
The views were incredible, although I have to admit I didn’t fully appreciate them until about 5 minutes after I’d finished and I could breath normally again! - Cameron
The feeling once you finished. The sense of accomplishment and endorphins is something you can never beat. Then getting to support the other competitors as well. - Miranda
Best moment of the event for you?
Getting to cheer on the other racers crossing the line and all the support at the finish was awesome. - Cameron
Crossing the finish line! - Miranda
How did you fuel it?
A big bowl of porridge for breakfast is my staple before any sporting event. I then had a VOOM Caffeine Kick bar about 45 minutes before start time to get the caffeine boost in. For my warmup I had a bottle of VOOM Fusion Fuel to stay hydrated and for a carb top up before the race. After the race a delicious bar of recovery fudge which revived me after the effort. - Cameron
In the morning I had a big bowel of porridge. Then during the build up I stayed hydrated with the VOOM Hydrate electrolyte powder. As I was warming up I had the caffeine kick bar. I just stuck with what I know works for me for fuelling.
Top 3 tips for someone else looking at taking on The Struggle?
Cameron:
- Scout the course, being such a long climb it’s important to know what to expect and how to pace it.
- Equally it’s important to be fuelled correctly for the race as it’s around 15 minutes long.
- Most importantly have fun and try to enjoy the scenery on the way up
Miranda:
- Scout the course the day before
- Have a good warm up even if it’s a short climb
- Most importantly have fun and enjoy supporting everyone
What’s next? Upcoming events, challenges and trips?
With the winter weather approaching I’ll be hiding in the dry of Newport velodrome where the winter track league has just started. With a race night every other week, there’s plenty more racing left this year! - Cameron
Down in South Wales we are very lucky to have Newport Velodrome so close and the winter track league has just started which is a lot of fun! So will be doing this over the winter and fueling with VOOM for these races. When the rain holds off will try and head out on the road but if not Zwift will occur and maybe the odd run. - Miranda
