Why I’m organising my first hill climb (and why I think grassroots racing needs more of us doing the same)

At 21, I should probably be focused purely on racing.

I ride for an elite domestic team, race at National level, and like everyone else in the bunch I’m chasing my own results.

But over the last couple of years, as I’ve progressed in my racing, I’ve found it harder to ignore the steady decline in the British road scene. It feels like the sport is running on fumes. Every event I hear about seems to be scraping the barrel for rider entries, marshals, and the officials needed just to make it happen.

In the past month alone, two of my races were scrapped, one derailed by last-minute roadworks, the other by a shortage of officials. This weekend I lined up for a three-stage race at the second-highest national level, and yet the start sheet had just 34 names. At the same time, another prestigious national-level race I’m entered for in two weeks is still scrambling to muster enough riders and accredited marshals to keep it alive.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Elliott Colyer (@elliott.colyer)

With this sort of climate there is no avoiding the truth, and we can all see it happening. We’ve all sat in cafés after a ride or sent messages in group chats, moaning about how the sport’s not what it used to be and lamenting the worrying health of British road racing.

But at some point, I realised that if I was going to complain about it, I also had to be willing to do something about it. And after graduating university this summer why wait any longer? So, this October, I’m putting on my first open event: The Zig-Zag Hill Climb in Shaftesbury.

It’s built around the iconic climb, a twisting ribbon of tarmac punctuated by three sharp hairpins, the sort you’d expect on a proper mountain pass and quickly ramps up to its maximum 15.3% gradient.

More importantly, it’s built to feel like an event, not just a spreadsheet with times. As a first-time event organiser and giving myself a short time-frame, I had to get up to speed quickly, learning each step needed to tick every box and keep things running smoothly.

That meant finding and booking a HQ, working with Cycling Time Trials South District to agree a safe course, completing risk assessments, and conducting traffic counts (two and a half hours in a lay-by later). I also had to secure a promoting club to list the event on the CTT website (thanks to Poole Wheelers for stepping in), find timekeepers, send police notification forms (PNFs), and fire off and follow up on a mountain of emails.

However, while it might sound like a lot, having some extra guidance made a big difference in navigating the process. Tools like ChatGPT helped point me toward the right forms, highlight the steps to tick off at each stage, and offer second opinions on areas I wasn’t entirely sure about.

For example, it could sense-check my risk assessments and PNFs and provide clear guidance on conducting a thorough traffic count. This involved 15-minute blocks split into categories of cars, motorcycles, agricultural/LGV, and cycles, further broken down by direction of travel, if you’re curious.

It was this extra bit of support that helped me avoid potential pitfalls and made the process feel far more manageable for a first-time organiser.

Then there’s the fun part, making it into an event. Which, in my opinion, is every bit if not more important as making sure the risk assessment is completed properly. Most of the people helping turn it into an event are folks I’ve met through racing: other young riders, baristas, and small business owners. It’s a proper community effort. I might be the one pulling it together, but it’s very much built from the bunch.

Everyone wants to see the scene back thriving. There will be custom cowbells for spectators, a ‘weight weenies’ bike scale station at HQ for riders to weigh their machines (both available through a voluntary charity donation), a coffee van from The Coffee Guys, photography from PelotonPix, chalk road markings and amazing prizes from local businesses, coaches and partner brands. I’m even talking to The Handmade Cyclist about potential limited-edition merch for the event.

From the start it was important to me that the event had a charity angle. All cowbell and ‘weight weenie’ donations will go to the New Forest Bike Project (NFBP), who refurbish bikes and pass them on to people who need them. We’ll also invite riders and spectators to bring along any old or disused bikes, kit, or parts to donate to the NFBP at a collection in HQ, because if you’ve got a spare jersey or a set of bars gathering dust, it could go to someone who really needs it.

I’m also leaning into modern promotion. I run a cycling Instagram with friends that’s grown to over 5,000 followers, and I’m using it to post regular updates, behind-the-scenes reels, and collaborative posts with supporters. I’ve even reached out to local cycling ‘influencers’ with larger, highly engaged audiences, and they’ve kindly agreed to help promote the event and create content around it.

The goal is to make the event visible, not just to those in the local club scene, but to riders across the country who might fancy travelling down to take it on. This hill climb is just a starting point. Hill climbs are relatively simple to organise compared to road races, as there are no rolling road closures or convoys — so it’s the perfect place to learn the ropes. My bigger aim is to bring a National B road race to the area next year, ideally incorporating Zig Zag Hill into the course.

I’m hugely grateful for the decades of work that have kept grassroots racing alive, and this event builds on that foundation. If the sport’s going to thrive again, we can’t just rely on the same people to keep it afloat year after year. We need more riders — especially younger ones — to get involved in organising, promoting, and building the events riders want to race, the wider community wants to watch, and sponsors want to get involved with.

The Zig-Zag Hill Climb might not change the world, but it’s my way of doing something. And I’d rather be part of the solution than sat in the café complaining.

The Zig-Zag Hill Climb is on Sunday 5th October near Shaftesbury, entries are £12. Check out the event page here for all the info and details and how to get involved.