All to soon the field arrived at the final Hill on the outskirts of Torquay. Higher Gabwell for the Boys and Slippery Sam for the Girls. Actually Slippery Sam was pretty rough this year. It had been resurfaced some time in the last few months. It wasn't to bad at the bottom but the loose material became bigger and bigger as the summit beckoned and the contractor had dumped a load of dinosaur eggs art the top where the restart was positioned adjacent to a deep washed out gully.
Most competitors choose the eggs, which reeked havoc on their undersides.
Over on Higher Gabwell the yellows were allowed a clean run but the poor old reds had to restart and again it was very critical where you stopped. At the Torquay finish, popular opinion was that it was a good Exeter. OK Tillerton and the last hill were a bit rough, probably far to rough for newcomers but just about acceptable to the regulars. The two new hills were great, filling a normally boring middle section of the trial.