TOUR DE FRANCE
AUSTRALIAN RIDER RELATES TRYING EXPERIENCES ON THE ROAD. The joy of eating a real meal cooked by his wife was the Australian, Opperman's, lirst experiexice , after -a month on tlie roads in the cycling Tour de France. ' " The race was more monotonous than in 1928," he said. " I have never had such a ride as from Amiens to Belfort. We were covered wit-h. icicles when we descended from the snowy mountains -into torrential rain in the valley. I was never more misera'ble in my life than in the Alps. I was suffering from stomach trouble, and dropped back from sixth place to sixteenth, which shattered my hopes. The race was utteriy exhausting, hut I shall shortly tacklh the race from Paris to Brest and baclq 750 miles, which is even worse. Meantime, I .shall try my 'luck in a 112-mile race at Gopenhagen." Opperman lost in weight lO^lb. and Lamb, the other Australian, two stone. Opperman expressed the hope tnat Australia would produce a team of racers able to compete with the crack j Gontinental riders. "-We have the \ material," he said.. Curt Reiss, a> German authority, 1 classed Opperman's performance as the outstanding feat of the r,ace. He said: " If it had been every man for himself instead of a team event he' would -have won."
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Rotorua Morning Post, 28 August 1931, Page 6
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220TOUR DE FRANCE Rotorua Morning Post, 28 August 1931, Page 6
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