Box Hill, outside Dorking, is something of a Surrey cyclist’s Mecca. The zig-zag road from the t-junction above Ryka’s cafe car park climbs 154m in two and a half kilometres at an average gradient of about 6 percent, making it about as close as Surrey gets to providing an Alpine climbing experience.

Although it seems to strike fear into the hearts of the climb-phobic, it is not especially hard; indeed, even when tired a reasonable rider can spin up in 39×21 without too much effort. However, like any hill it is as hard as you care to make it and, when the kind chaps at Garmin decided to use the zig-zag as the venue for a competition between various Magicalia cyclists and their ‘virtual training partner’, one Box Hill regular knew there would only be one winner.

Each of us had an Edge 705 downloaded with precise details of the climb and, more importantly, the ride pace of someone from the Garmin-Slipstream squad. Whether said pro had actually been timed on the climb or his pace had been calculated from raw data, we weren’t told. What we were told was than the target time would be just over five minutes.

Now, I may not be the fastest climber in the South East but for an old giffer I’m not too shabby on the zig-zag and I know from experience that getting under seven minutes takes some doing. Still, a race is a race and the Cyclestig was not the only competitor in the event; young DA was there on a ‘cross bike, with Juan ‘The Moa’ Christen fresh from a triumphant Southern Sportive and publisher Ed ‘Porridge’ Marriage keen to lose his current road name in favour of something a little more fast-moving.

As with any hill-climb, it was a lungs-out effort from the gun, the only respite offered by the three sharp bends on the ascent. Starting last I could see Juan ahead but never seemed to make any ground. We had each started our 705s as we clipped in and, presumably, the Garmin guys hoped we’d keep an eye on the Cyclestig while riding.

No chance; I’d forgotten about the sat-nav within five pedal revs as I concentrated on finding that perfect balance between rasping lungs and searing thighs. The bleep that came two-thirds of the way up, announcing the end of the Cyclestig’s ride, was a timely reminder of how fast the top riders can climb and a spur to greater efforts, the last of which carried me across the line in 6’48”. Juan may have pipped me for the win – or should that be second place? – by four seconds but it was a personal PB for the climb, proving that you always go faster in competition, even if it is only against a virtual training partner.