CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 227, 25 September 1929, Page 16

CYCLING.

WITH THE AMATEURS. FIFTY-MILE CHAMPIONSHIP. FEATURES OF THE RACE. FIXTURES. Saturday, September 2S. —22-milea Senior and 55-iiiile Junior Handicaps. October u. —17-nriles Cotter Cup Race. A fine sunny afternoon, tempered with a cool, almost keen, bracing southerly wincfc graced the thirty competitors who raced in the 50-miles Auckland provincial amateur championship road race from Epsom to Clcvedon last Saturday. The wind was extremely trying on the way cut as far as the turn at Clcvedon, but on the run home riders had a following wind. At the half-way mark at Clcvedon all but J. Whitten, scr, -who punctured at Takanini after going nearly 10 miles, were clocked-in. In fact, this fourth annual race, must be noted for the small number of retirements. There was no loafing, and every member of every one of the nine handicap groups did his share of the pacing, thus ensuring a fast race. In consequence of the combined efforts of all individual riders there was no particularly outstanding performer, although W. Clarke and R. L. Francis, the latter a junior member of the Maimkau Club, the limit riders off 23m, rode well throughout, and were just unlucky in not being able to hold the lead to the end. The event was a regular triumph for the handicapper. Had not the hand of Fate, some had stronger terms for it, taken three of the five scratch men, there would certainly have been a far closer finish. Still it was fairly close, for Dwight and Mackie, the latter the wellknown scratch rider of the Papanui Club, of Christchurch, the only scratch men to complete the distance, were only 3m 48s behind the winner, J. Leather. J. Whitten, scr, after repairing the puncture ho obtained at Takanini, set off in pursuit of his fellow markers, only to puncture again. At the fork roads at Bull's corner, 22 miles from Epsom, he returned without going around the fivemile loop which commenced and finished at the latter-mentioned corner. Instead of waiting for the following lorry so kindly provided by Mr. J. Mackrell, ho rodo back with some of the front markers, for which breach of the rules a protest was lodged and upheld, with the result that he wad disqualified for one month from racing. L. B. Roberts, scr, collided with Dwight's rear wheel at •'Carter the Great's" Bridge, just south of Manurewa, and fell heavily. J. H. Wade, through lack of training, had to cease operations at Manurewa, thus leaving Dwight and Mackio to fight out the fastest time issue. All who witnessed the progress of the scratch bunch expressed disappointment at the depiction in that group. J. Leather's .victory from off the 10m 40s mark was very popularly received by all of his club mates, for it was his first win of the season. When he finished a good third to Dwight and Wade when off 10m 30s in the 531-miler over five laps of both the Mangere and Ihuraatao circuits on August 17 last, he gave then some indication of his worth over a long distance. He would probably have won that particular race too had not he partaken of the sherry ■ so kindly offered him whilst well in the lead and on the last six miles of the race. He did not accept any privileges last Saturday, and rode with perfect judgment. Leather is a fine stamp of athlete, tali and wiry. Of late he has, through consistent training, gradually come to the forefront, and his winning of the championship fifty last Saturday came as no surprise to many who were acquainted with his riding over the Mangere roads this season. His last and only other win on the road was in a 22-miler on August 25, 1925, off 9m 30s. It can easily be seen from the latter performance what a vast improvement lie has made since last year. C. Francis, 8m 40s, second, and winner of the trophy given by Mr. J. Mackie for the fastest rider under 18, hails from Papakura, and is a brother of the limit rider in the race under review. He was competing in the junior ranks as late as last season. Only 17 years of age, he rode like an old and experienced hand at the game. The undulating and fast surfaced roads of the Papakura-Clevcdon section he knew thoroughly, for he confined most of his training to that section, where- the only real hill of note is situated—Kerekere. A slfort stiff gradient, but not quite steep enough to cause ft dismount. On the return journey some of the following motorists reported that some of the cyclists descended same on the return journey at speeds hovering around the 40 m.p.h. mark, so excellent was the surface. The third man home, G. P. Clark, rode his usual honest race, this time from, off the 10m 40s mark. In the 53J-miler out at Mangere he was second to Whitten, who won, off 15m, so naturally he was expected to be close up in the "champ," which was over a far easier and faster "course. Clark has not as yet registered a win since he started racing on May 26, 1928. After some splendid performances at Mangere, H. R. Dwight, scr., capped the issue on Saturday when he romped over • the line the winner of fastest time in 2h 15m 54s —a record for the course. To the fastest rider always goes the title in a championship road race. Thus Dwight was the recipient of the fine championship blue riband made expressly for the 1929 50-mile Auckland provincial road champion. His time was just six seconds faster than Whitten's time for'the event last year. At the Clevedon check, about half-way, he clocked -68m 51s but 67m 3s sufficed for the return journey. Dwight is undoubtedly the most versatile road expert in the Manukau Club, and no matter what distance a race is he can always unfurl a rapid sprint at the business end. For instance he won the club's 11-mile road championship with comparative ease on July <>0 Then he was the only rider to' finish in both of the gruelling 53A milers at Mangere this season. The first on August 17, he won off scratch m 2h 30m 17s, and in the second, on September 7 he was placed sixth with second fastest time, 2h 35m 6s, just lm 12s slower than J. Whitten, who won off 2m in the record time of 2h 33m 545. The merit of his last two performances may be realised better when it is stated that only four completed the course oufc of 25 starters in the first and seven out of seventeen in the second. Dwight is now well in the lead for the Kohn Points Cup with 2t> points. •\ Mai-kie, scr., who was a close second to Dwight In the sprint, did not have a possible hope of bettering his position at tho finish for the cr.owd hud. m their eagerness to see the riders finish, "bottle-

necked" the road badly. However, his efforts opened the eyes of many of the Auckland enthusiasts. He and Dwight paced together to perfection, and finished .'3m 4Ss ■ behind the winner. Mackie conies from one of the best known cycling families in New Zealand, and is now residing with his parents in Auckland, where he means to remain for the opening of the new banked concrete cycling track at the Western Springs Stadium, which will be opened early in December. Mackie is of short and stocky stature, not unlike his brother "Will," who is widely known throughout tho cycling world, having competed in Australia and America, as well as practically every town in New Zealand, where the cycling game is taken seriously. Angus, means to bring up a specially equipped pacing motor cycle soon, in preparation for some record attempts on tho new track at the Springs. The success of the big race on Saturday is largely attributed to the splendid response received from the cycle traders and enthusiasts who helped with the trophy list. Next Saturday the senior race will start punctually at 2.10 p.m., and the junior contest will be run off whilst the seniors are on their second lap. This will be done so as to give competitors an opportunity of witnessing the finish of the Hamilton to Auckland race, which will finish on the Onchunga recreation grounds at about 3.45 p.m.