A German YouTuber has been crowned champion of Gloucestershire's iconic cheese-rolling contest for the third consecutive year. The annual Spring Bank Holiday event, held on Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, sees daredevils hurl themselves 180 metres down the county's steepest hill while chasing an 8lb wheel of Double Gloucester cheese.
Guinness World Record holder Chris Anderson, 38, was coaxed out of his cheese-rolling retirement by recent double champion Tom Kopke, 24, who challenged him to a face-off at this year's race. The competition in the first men's downhill race was tight until the very last minute when Mr Kopke overtook the seasoned veteran just before the finish line, winning for the third year in a row.
'This year's cheese will taste the sweetest of all the cheeses I have won,' declared the YouTuber immediately after his victory. The German, who has 469K subscribers and posts videos of his other adrenaline-seeking stunts, was embraced by his rival at the bottom after being declared the winner.
'This was I think my best year ever and I tried to stay on my feet for as long as possible,' Mr Kopke said. 'I don't know how it went but I gave everything. It's everyone's race and you have just got to give your best and the best man wins.'
'The hill was better than last year as the hill was really dry, but this year it was the optimal conditions – not too dry and a bit soft so the falls got cushioned. I think I got a good recovery on the middle of the hill and then sprinted the rest. This year's cheese will taste the sweetest of all the cheeses I have won.'
Asked how he prepares, he said: 'Shut off your brain and go for it. The entire race I saw Chris in front of me and I had to get him.' Mr Anderson, from Brockworth, has won 23 times between 2005 and 2022.
With temperatures soaring during what forecasters said could become the hottest spring bank holiday on record, competitors and spectators alike had to contend with sweltering conditions and the mercury hitting nearly 30C in Gloucestershire. The heavy spring rain had softened the track, but the recent heat wave made it firmer and more dangerous for the competitors who risk getting injured in the chaotic tumble down the 1:2 gradient hill.
There are usually several injuries each year, but the worst was Canadian Delaney Irving who finished the 2023 race unconscious after bumping her head and didn't find out she had won until she woke up in the medical tent.
Rebel cheese rollers have been staging their own unofficial event after health and safety fears caused the official competition to be cancelled in 2010 after 15,000 people turned up as spectators to watch the 2009 competition. Since then, it has been held unofficially, with police keeping a watchful eye and roads closed up to two and a half miles around the slope. After a year's hiatus, when police warned against the use of a real cheese, the imitation lightweight foam cheese was replaced with the genuine article.
Long-time cheese-maker Rod Smart, who has produced cheese for the chase for more than 25 years, once again provided the wheels for this year's event. Four cheeses weighing about 3kg each and three smaller ones, weighing about 1.5kg, are used. The unusual event has been celebrated for centuries, with the earliest known written mention dating back to 1836, and is thought to have its roots in a heathen festival to celebrate the return of spring. Some competitors travelled from across the world to take part in the series of madcap races, which attracted international TV crews.
