Cycling and Motoring Notes

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 September 1913, Page 4

Cycling and Motoring Notes

| From tiie Dunlop Ilubber Co., of ' Australasia, for the week ending 20 th September, 191. * * * * if Paul Guignard—one of tke games t and fastest cyclist wko ever sat behind a pacing machine— has met an untimely end whilst racing at Cologne. An accident occurred during a motor-paced race, one of the pacers falling, and Guignard and Scheuermann fell over him, both sustaining injuries to which they subsequently succumbed. For the last seven or eight years Guignard has been right at the top of the tree at motor paced racing. In 190G there was a great struggle between Guignard (France) and A. E. Willis (England) as to who would win the coveted honour of being the first to cover fiO miles in as many minutes. The French crack got up to 59 miles 9G yards, bill before he could accomplish the "60" in the hour, Willis went across to Munich (Germany) in .1908, and astonished the world bv riding fit miles 97:! yards in (>() minutes. _ Guignard tried on several occasions to better the Englishman s record, but it was not until nearly a year had elapsed that he succeeded, and what a magnificent performance he accomplished. He raised the record to ()•} miles 255 yards. That was in September, 1909, and those figures stand to-day. and look like remaining on the record sheet for \ears to come. On the occasion of his great feat, Guignard rode a machine gen red to lf!0 inches. The sad fate of the crack rider calls to mind that T. Kobl, another world beater behind pace, also met a tragic end -he being killed while aeroplaning in Germany. * * * * * An effort is being made to again hold a six days' cycle race in Sydney this year end, but although financial backing is available on com;nion that all profits accruing "•ill go to the Sydney Hospital- | ('mtc is a difficulty in getting the leading cracks to come across from An:enVa in time. Most of the bes! six days men in the world are aiready booked up for the annual New York event, which is to be decided in December, so that it is impossible to land them Tn Sydney in time for a race at flic end of December. It has Tieen suggested that the race should be lieFd at the end of January, when it iua\ be possible to induce a strong tftini of riders to make fhe trip, including the Australian cracks." Goullef, Grenda, Clarke, Spears. M"Namnra, etc. * * * * The fine riding of (lie ]\ T .S.AV. amateur road crack, E. W. Pedersen, who has in turn won tlm N.S.W. Dunlop road (Tiampionfdnp and the Goulburn-Sydnov road race, could not have happened af a more opportune time than now, whilst the question of Australasia bein.o suitably represented at the next Olyn'tpfc Gaines at Herlin is receiviii<: public a lien tion and support. Pveling will ]>lay an enormous pari in the next Olympic (James fin I!'!!!) and judging by the fine performance registered by I'edersen iii the (ioull)iirn eveni, which lie carried oil from scratch, riding i->l miles in (ilirs. 24mins. JiUsec., Australia, all goinvr well with i'cucrscn in the meantime, will have ;i worthy representative. Of course the Sydney crack has two years yet to go, but. as he is only >-U .years of age he should improve in the interim, and il : he does, then he would luivc everv chance "'.emulating It. Lewis, the South African rider, who carried off the Olympic road event held in Sweden last year. Some keeu judges of road racing in N.S.W. state thai Pedersen is in Don Kirkhams class. This is claiming a lot for a comparatively new rider, especially when we consider what a wonderful series of rides Kirkhani has put up, notably his unpaced efforts of I (JO miles in -1 hrs •Minuns, and 2o miles in 50mins. •KMsees, and his competition ride in S.A. of 110 miles in 4hrs -'10 mins. LSsecs. Pedcrsen failed by five minutes to reach Kirkham's Geulburn-Sydney record, but that performance alone, good as it undoubtedly was, does not entitle him to yet rank with Iwkhair/ wl o is not only the greatest- roa .1 rider Australia has produced, but probably the finest unpaced rider in the world. With ex;> > im;v and ar,e Pedersen looks like level ( plus' into a top-not ;lut. a<> ; if .';« is are to be devoted town.r Is If»]vng Australasia's leading amateurs with a view tn representatives for the Berlin carnival, then the Sydney crack is oi!e that should be especially coached with that end in view. j