CYCLING SCANDAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 343, 2 May 1928, Page 13

CYCLING SCANDAL

inquiries at te aroha allegations before COMMITTEE (From Our Oven Correspondent) TE AROHA, To-day. The cycling scandal which has arisen out of a sports meeting staged at Te Aroha on April 9, and in which are implicated some of the best-known ■ iders in New Zealand, was thrashed out at a meeting of the sports committee held last evening. Those alleged to have been concerned in collusion tactics are Phil O’Shea and J. Henderson, both of Christchurch, and Carey, Alexander and Allison. They were charged by M. Randrup, J. Harcourt and T. Archer, the last-named witness being i passenger on the train with the other two, where it was alleged that Alexander made the statement that Allison, Carey and himself had agreed to pay Phil O’Shea the sum of £3 if the Christchurch rider would pace them to win in the 3 miles, 35 miles and 4 miles handicaps at Te Aroha on April 9. The winner was to pay O’Shea the £3. All the riders whom the charge was made against had been written to, ;ind they all denied collusion. O’Shea replied that in the 3& miles handicap he and Henderson were out to win, but they could not manage to shake off two of the riders. He said afterwards to the winner, “That ought to be worth something to us for pacing you.” It was more a joke than thing else. The winner promised them something, but O’Shea had just forgotten what it was. Anyhow, he had not received anything, and the winner must have also regarded it as a joke. Replies from Allison. Alexander and Carey were direct denials of any collusion. Randrup wrote saying that he and Stace were off the same mark in the 4-miles event. This meant that O’Shea and Henderson were 50 yards ahead of them. Instead of O’Shea and Henilerson riding hard and catching the limit men, wrote Randrup, they waited for him and Stace,' and then kept slowing the mup when either of them tned to pass. At last O’Shea let them through, but when they started to put <>n a race, O'Shea and Henderson flew in pursuit.

The committee decided to leave it to the Northern Athletic Union to deal with the riders concerned.