“TOO SEVERE”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 513, 16 November 1928, Page 6

“TOO SEVERE”

Lamb’s Objection to Handicap WOULD NOT START Complaining that his handicap was too severe, R. W. (“Fatty”) Lamb, former amateur cycling champion of Australia, withdrew from the 130 miles professional road race from Melbourne to Ballarat and back early this month. Lamb objected vigorously to the action of the handicapper in placing him alone on the scratch mark with a gap of seven minutes to the next bunch of competitors. He said that Hubert Opperman had never been set such a task in Victoria, and it was not fair to single him out.

Handicapper Jim Cross was emphatic that he had handicapped Lamb on his performances. He said that Lamb’s effort in the big Geelong race, when he won home from a great field under cruel conditions, was superior to any of Opperman’s Victorian performances. “I think Lamb is a wonderful rider. He has no peer in Australia for road work,” was Cross’s eulogy. One Australian writer was led to remark that, while Lamb had to face a severe handicap, the rider was earning a reputation for objections. This may be as it may, but Lamb has always taken his cycling seriously, and it is only reasonable to grant that he cannot do?.himself justice unless the racing conditions are the best.