The appetite amongst local and not so local riders for putting themselves through the mill on the Devil seems to have returned, with entries pretty well returning to pre-Covid levels. We had 183 entrants of which 134 started. Of the starters, 118 completed the event within the time limit. Congratulations to Peter Branfield who completed his 12th Devil and to Lyndsey Coombes, Nigel Evans, Chris Hariades, Rob Hendy and Ian Pang who completed their 6th.
Of the three Devil routes, this year’s is usually considered to be the hardest, possibly because it includes the much-loved (?!) Pepperdon Hall Hill. It was hard enough getting up Pepperdon when route checking before the event and before the delayed autumn had properly arrived, so chapeau to those riders that got up it on the day with the thick layer of beech nuts and leaves. Thankfully the weather on the day this year wasn’t too bad with, like last year, the strong southwest wind causing the most problems, particularly from Jurston Cross to Two Bridges. It did make for a fast finish though.
The Devil isn’t a charity ride, but from donations for the cakes and the event’s surplus, we were able to donate a total of almost £900 to Devon Air Ambulance, Ashburton Refugee Network, the Dartmoor National Park, and the Cyclists’ Defence Fund. Many thanks to the venues that hosted controls: The Cromwell Arms in Bovey for the start and finish, the Post Inn at Whiddon Down for the soup and the Fox Tor Café in Princetown for welcome get-me-home refreshments.
And many thanks to all of the helpers for making it happen and to all of the riders for putting themselves through it. https://thecromwellarms.co.uk/
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