Long story short - I spent most of the afternoon in a couple of breaks. As I was grovelling up the aforementioned hill for the last time, I was passed by the first 3 riders of the advancing bunch to come in 8th.
One small bonus; 8th place means I should have retained my 2nd cat licence for next season. By then I may have forgotten how unpleasant that hill is and enter the race again.
