Riders are invited to test themselves against former national hill climb champion James Dobbin at Severn Road Club's Open Hill Climb at Hinton Hill, near Pucklechurch.

The Arctic Premier rider will be up against course record-holder Robert Gough (Chippenham and District) at the event, which starts outside the Bull Inn on Saturday, October 3, at 2.30pm.

Entries for juniors and seniors must be in by this Saturday and can be made by contacting Paul Evans on 0117 9798277.

With the road race season drawing to a close, it is the turn of the cyclo-cross riders to plough their way through mud and battle away in the cold and wet – at least those are the conditions riders can expect in the months ahead.

But for the first race of the Western Cyclo-Cross League, held around Gloucester Boating Lake, the fine early September weather made for a fast course.

Crispin Doyle (Swindon RC) came home first, with Luke Gray (Hargroves Cycles) and Barry Holley (VC Walcot) in second and third respectively.

Swindon RC is staging round two, at Lydiard Park in Swindon, on Sunday, with the juniors racing from 11am and the seniors starting at 12.15pm.

Round 1 result: 1 Crispin Doyle (Swindon RC), 2 Luke Gray (Hargroves Cycles), 3 Barry Holley (Velo Club Walcot), 4 Simon Burgess (Somer Valley CC), 5 Garry Clark (Banjo Cycles.com), 6 Peter Giddings (Velo Club Walcot), 7 Dave McMullen (Evans Cycles Race Team), 8 Robert Davies, 9 Jeremy Addis (Royal Dean Forest CC), 10 Jason Blann (Team Rose Blann), 11 Edward Sneddon (Sigma Sport.co.uk), 12 Chas Thursfield (Dream CC), 13 Andrew Roberts (Evans Cycles Race Team), 14 Peter Hargroves (Hargroves Cycles), 15 Christopher Remnant (Hargroves Cycles).