The week: 3-9 October, 2022
Location: Cardiff
Training for: National Hill-Climb Champs
Born in the UK but schooled in the USA, Illi Gardner returned to Wales in 2017 and over the next two seasons continued to develop her road racing prowess. During lockdown, Gardner’s taste for climbing took on a long-distance flavour, culminating in her breaking Emma Pooley’s Everesting record – a mark she improved on further this July.
For 2022, the 23-year-old decided to focus on hill-climbs and has taken the discipline by storm with 10 wins from 10 races – including a dominant performance at the National Champs at the end of October. Gardner generously made time for CW while taking a postchamps break in Majorca.
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