Ilkley Cycling Club scored a memorable team win in the 2011 Otley Two Stage Hill Climb race on Saturday.

The hill climb season usually means wind, rain and cold, but, despite being October, it felt like summer.

Stage One saw the riders head out from Pateley Bridge and up the tough 0.8 mile Guise Cliff climb.

After a short break they then tackled the even harder Norwood Edge.

These two tough challenges combine to make for one of the fiercest cycling races in Yorkshire.

The first stage saw some impressive times, with the course record being broken by Oxford's Tejvan Pettinger.

Ilkley’s team of Ewan Farrow, Ben Hallworth and Tim Ashleford responded by putting in excellent times and were placed within a few seconds of the top teams. Ashleford was the first Ilkley rider to go on the second leg and finished in 6:29.5.

Riders were finding the steepness and heat challenging, but were thoroughly enjoying the racing and the atmosphere created by the cheering crowds.

Ben Hallworth, the second Ilkley rider to go, closed the gap further putting in a powerful ride which resulted in the fifth fastest overall time of the day.

With only a couple of riders left, and the increasing afternoon heat making life even more difficult, Ilkley’s Ewan Farrow set off knowing that nothing less than a perfect ride for any chance of the team win.

Ewan kept his head and cheered on by the Ilkley supporters Ewan pushed hard on the final climb to record a fantastic time of 6:27.2 After an anxious wait, the final results were announced and it was revealed that Ilkley had claimed victory in the team competition by just one second over the powerful GS Metro outfit from Newcastle.

Further afield Ilkley’s Katherine Pimlott was the fastest lady with a time of 1.01.23 at the Yorkshire CF Dishforth-Knayton 25 mile time-trial on Sunday while Sue Booth and race partner Louise Hanley won first female team at Staveley Open 5 in the Lake District.