Preston Park Youth Cycling Club are proud to be hosting Sussex’s only dedicated youth hill climb event on a closed road at High Hill, Rottingdean on Sunday 24th September 2023.
Any young person aged 6-16 can enter and there will be podium presentations for the top 3 riders in U8, U10, U12, U14 and U16 ages across Boys and Girls categories.
Riders who are aged 12+ will have further opportunities to compete throughout Autumn in the South Downs Hill Climb Series, which features Steyning Bostal, Ditching Beacon, Firle Bostal and more. However the Rottingdean Hill Climb is the only one that allows U12s to compete and is the only dedicated youth event in the South Downs Hill Climb series.
High Hill, Rottingdean
High Hill is a 1km climb rising from the edge of the village towards Balsdean Farm with stunning views in every direction across the South Downs and back out to sea. The climb is long and steady and perfectly achievable by young riders. The start of the hill climb will be where the ’Private Road’ sign is located and the finish will be at the summit of the hill.
We are very grateful to the landowners at Balsdean Farm / High Barn Farm for allowing us to close the road for the event. Please show your support for their business, they deliver weekly veg boxes and eggs across the Brighton area.
Getting there
High Hill is accessed via Bazehill Road, just to the north of Rottingdean village.
Obviously we would encourage competitors to cycle to this event. Rottingdean is really easy to cycle to from Brighton & Hove in the West, and Saltdean in the East, using the seafront NCN2 cycle route. There will be a group of riders leaving Brighton’s St Peters Church at 9am, to arrive at Rottingdean around 10.00, please join us for a mass bike ride out to the start of the hill climb. There is also a largely traffic free route all the way from Lewes along NCN20 to Falmer then the Falmer-Woodindean cycle track followed by the Old Parish Lane gravel and grass track down to Rottingdean village.
If driving, please enter Rottingdean from the North (Woodingdean) direction to avoid driving through the village high street, which gets extremely congested with cars. There is street parking in Bazehill Road and along the lane towards the Start line. There are also three public car parks at Rottingdean seafront which is a 15 min walk or 5 min cycle away.
How to enter
Advance entry is required so we can plan timings and volunteers. There will be no entries on the day.
All riders must have a bike with gears and brakes. Helmets are compulsory for riders and please bring a water bottle. Depending on the weather, you may need a jacket and weather-appropriate clothing, as in poor conditions the South Downs can be windswept and exposed!