Cash Cyclists Preparing for Winter Racing

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 30, 28 April 1927, Page 7

Cash Cyclists Preparing for Winter Racing

Road season opens on Saturday— Auckland champion, J. Harcourt, shows big improvemen t Ph; I O’Shea sensationally beaten in South Island Championship. (By “VELOS”) The opening of the road-racing season bv the Auckland Athletic and Cycling Club will take place next Saturday on the Mangere course. Good entries have been received, and the opening event may find some surprises, as several “dark horses” have been reported. The season promises to be a record one. With two big Hamilton to Auckland races, and the usual weekly event at Mangere, casn riders are sure of a very busy time. Secretary Alex Sutherland of the A.A. and C.C. wishes all intending competitors to send in their nominations at once for the different events coming on. Riders must also be registered before they can compete in any road race. The starting point has been moved near to the Mangere Bridge. The roads here are open, and a clear view is to be had. This is necessary, as in exciting finishes there cannot be too much road. With the cash riders going to the right and the amateur riders to the left there is practically no chance of accidents between riders. Given fine weather there should be a good attendance of the public. The handicaps for the first race will be awaited with interest. Since last season many improvements m riders will have been noted by the liandicapper, and he naturally will act on them accordingly—to the probable disgust of those who think they are badly treated. One rider, in particular, can look forward to seeing his handicaps appear. That rider is J. Harcourt, who has shown Avonderfully improved form since last road-racing season. “’Jerry” Matliieson, Auckland’s 10mile road champion, is reported to have taken on running. He has the best wishes of the riders, who will miss that finishing sprint of his tins season. LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON M. Randrup, who has left the amateur ranks and joined U P cash riders, is a welcome addition. His first appearance augurs well for the • future, and if his form at Te Aroha on Easter Monday can be taken as a criterion he certainly has a future. Father Randrup, who, in his day was one of the best, will see to it that his son has the best advice possible. J. Harcourt, who belongs to Hamilton, put up some very fine performances last season. Competing at Maiton against Bob Spears, ex-world champion, and Jack Henderson, New Zealand champion, Harcourt won the half-mile off 25yds., and the mile oft; 40yds. He also won the two-mile scratch race the same afternoon. At Cook’s Gardens track, at Wanganui, the same night, he won the half-mile handicap off 20yds. in 61sec; the mile handicap off 40yds. in 2min. 3sec., and he rode third in the three-mile scratch race. Spears and Henderson were the scratch men in these races. These performances against two such noted riders speak for themselves. . Harcourt’s riding will be watched with interest by all cycling enthusiasts this season. Sutherland and Prior struck trouble when they decided to visit Papakura on Easter Monday. The trouble was they failed to get any money. The handicaps gave them no chance of getting up. Handicappers seem to forget that on indifferent tracks the limit men can go as fast as back-markers. PHIL O'SHEA BEATEN Youth will be served. F. Ward defeated Phil O’Shea in the half-mile South Island Championship, run at Waimate on Saturday, April 16. The finish was a desperate one, inches only separating the placed men. In the Half-mile South Island Championship, run the same day, O’Shea had his revenge, the judge’s placings being O’Shea 1, Austin 2, Ward 3. A blanket could have covered the three riders. Waimate must possess a first-class cycle track, judging by the times recorded there this month. Ward won a half-mile off 22yds. in 59 3-ssec. Phil O’Shea won the mile handicap in 2 min. 7sec., the two-mile handicap was won by Wilmott, 90yds., 1; Ward, 80 yds., 2; Woods, 275yd5., 3; time, 4min. 23 3-ssec. These times show that either the track or the riders have improved. Harry Watson, New Zealand’s champion road rider, is not meeting with much success? on the track. During the Easter holidays he was a competitor at Cust, but the best he could do was to ride third in a threemile handicap. JACK FITZGERALD INVINCIBLE IN AUSTRALIA At the Sports Ground, Sydney, on April 10, Jack Fitzgerald won the one and five-mile New South Wales Championships, defeating the cream of Australia’s sprinters. In the one-mile event the placed men were: J. Fitzgerald, 1; Pye, 2; Scotton, 3; won rather easily. The five-mile event was full of interest. From the start the pace was a cracker, and right through the race it was the same. Entering the last lap Fitzgerald seemed tired, but by a super! jman effort over the last 100 yards he just got up in time to win. Bur was second and Pye third; time llmin. 18sec. A week later Fitzgerald won the si.x days’ race with K. Ross as his team-mate. Truly a wonderful week’s performance. The Auckland Athletic and Cycling Club, working in conjunction with the Dunlop Tyre Company, proposes to run a road race from Hamilton to Auckland during the coming season. The prize money it is hoped to make a record, and with Mr. P. A. Richards, the company's Auckland manager, as one of those in charge, the success of the fixture seems assured.