Cheese fans set for wild downhill chase as rolling festival to begin
A new cheese rolling champion will be crowned today following one of the most important and highly-anticipated lactose-based events of the year.
The Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling, one of Britain's most storied annual festivals, will see dozens of people pursue a very fast wheel of cheese down a damp hill near Gloucestershire. During the mad rush in Brockworth, men and women will cascade down the steep, precarious grassy knoll in hopes of grabbing some Double Gloucester cheese.
Thousands of eyes will be fixed on the four competing groups today running down - and occasionally up - the hill, but it isn't an entirely laughing matter.
The May 26 race is also a wake, with past champs being honoured, among them the first-ever, a famous cheese hater who always donated his proceedings.
The question "How fast can a wheel of Double Gloucester roll down a hill near Gloucestershire?" may seem like the start to a bad joke, but its a critical one for today's competitors.
Dozens of people will be chasing their quarry down the hill, which has an incredibly steep roughly 1:2 gradient. The gradient will mean the cheese, at its fastest, can approach up to 70mph at maximum. This means anyone taking part will have to either catch it before it manages to gather momentum, or at the bottom of the hill when it rolls to a stop.
While a Gloucester-based event with a Double Gloucester prize may seem hyper local, the competition is very much an international affair.
People looking to save money on cheese and lose weight in the process come from all over, and, unfortinately, it means that Brits are very much in form by regularly losing at another homespun sport. Last year's first winner was Tom Kopke, from Munich, the second men's race winner was Australian Dylan Twiss, and the first women's race winner was American Abby Lampe.
Competitors in today's race will tumble down Cooper's Hill in an organised fashion.
The first group to give themselves over to the soggy hill's influence will be the men, who will pour over the top at around 12pm this afternoon. They will be divided into races every 15 minutes, with children following in an uphill battle once the first men have reached the bottom.
Over-12s will follow once the second men's group has had an opportunity to wrestle with the force of gravity. Women will have a chance to prove their mettle at 1pm, before the all-against-all mixed uphill race at 1.15pm. Men will bookend the festival with their final race at 1.30pm.
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