Speed-Cycling on Road and Track

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 724, 25 July 1929, Page 13

Speed-Cycling on Road and Track

By

"CYCLOS."

THE AMATEURS

Under adverse weather conditions, tho events staged last week-end by the Manukau Amateur Cycle Club, drew fair entries. The junior race attracted a held of 10 competitors, the senior handicap 25, while a select field of 12 contested the club’s 11-mile champion- ( ship. K. S. Harris olinched the junior j event. Oft' lmin 30sec he soon gath- j ered tho field to win comfortably. C. i T. Yule gained fastest time. * * * D. Fletcher, 2min 15sec, gained j fastest time and first in the senior j handicap. He was never troubled at j any stage of the event. List season j Fletcher dead-heated with Whitten for j tho Kohn Cup. His effort was a ; glimpse of his old form. W. Borland, smin losec, was second. He was unfortunate in meeting the winner on his day out. A newcomer this season. J. Rigby, ! smin 15sec, was in third berth. He gamely battled along under adverse circumstances, fully deserving his placing. All was excitement as the championship aspirants were let go to a rolling start. That the pace was to ! bo a “cracker” was demonstrated by j the fact that Wade rode over the hill j in about 4sec less than is usually thi- : case, with the field tacked on. The honour of being presented with the championship riband went to Hen Dwight. If training counted for anything, then Dwight deserved his success. He has been a consistent competitor this season, as his lead for the Kohn Cup shows. The popularity of the winner was demonstrated when President Brewin presented lien with tho coveted trophy. Perhaps the surprise of the race was the placing of D. Aldred. He finished second. Aldred showed that a small man is very hard to dispose of. At the commencement of the season he filled minor placings on several occasions. His second in the classic should urge him on to further success. One of the oldest members of the club finished third. This was Con Gainsborough. His finishing effort was a good one. Among those he defeated were some good handicap riders. Jack Wade, who last year won this event, finished fourth. His form must have been very disappointing even to himself. Perhaps thp strenuous season’s racing is beginning to tell its tale. A spell should do him good. If pacing meant being placed then “Jerry” Whitten should have won the race hands down. With L. Roberts ho shared the pacing points. That Whitten gained the lap trophy by a big margin goes to show the amount of lapping he put in. Roberts was a poor second. The time returned by the winner was certainly due to Whitten.

Next week the junior championship will be held. With so much controversy as to who is the best junior —there being good boys like ITall, Yule and Hansen —a stirring contest should eventuate. That a good entry will be received is evident, as the juniors are very keen. The seniors will hold a three-lap—--17 miles—event. With better conditions prevailing than have been experienced during the last fortnight, some good times should be recorded.

ROAD CYCLING

The Manukau Amateur Cycling Club will hold two races at Mangere on Saturday afternoon, the junior championship over one lap—s£ miles —and a senior handicap of 17 miles. For the latter event Mr. G. W. Cleaver has declared the following handicaps: 17 Miles Senior Race.—H. R. Dwigljt, J. H. Wade, J. Whitten, L. B. Roberts, scr; R. G. Fcmbister, L. G. Pinfold, F. J. Casey, L. Aldred, M. P. Byrnes, 30s; C. G. Galbraith, E.' Andrews, R. R. Watson, D. Fletcher, H. McElroy, lm 455; F. Taylor, S. Baird, A. J. Baird, 2m 10s; C. Francis, F. W. Restall, A. W. Pinker, C. I. Gainsborough, 11. Russell, E. A. Cleaver, C. A. Clarke, 3m; G. J. Whitehouse, J. Leather, C. Harris, J. C. Stewart, G. W. Rollerson, 3m 255; C. L. Russell, G. P. Clark, W. Rowe, H. Borland, 4m 255; W. Borland, G. R. Gardiner, H. Farrer, A. V. Reed. S. R. Gatland, J. Aitken, H. H. Camp, L. Hall, sm; A. J. Baxter, S. J. Arr.ott, R. V. StockweP, Rigby, A. F. Hills, C. V. Carden, 7m. A time limit of 16 minutes will be daced upon the junior championshir vent and if this time should be exceeded t will be declared “no race,” and a time :ial will be run off at a later date tc eeide the champion. The event wil art at 2 p.m. AUCKLAND CLUBS RACE The following; handicaps have been dei iared by Mr. G. Knight for the Auckla.nc ycle Club’s road race over 45 miles . carting from Mangere Bridge, to Cleve don and back, on Saturday, at 2.15 p.m sharp: S. Hayes, J. Lindop, F. Prior, .J Harcourt, scr; H. Alexander, lm; D Storey. F. Potter, K. Mathieson, 6m 3(is W. Archer, F. Lowndes, W. Hills, L. G Pinfold, 8m; A. Sercombe, G. Hall, \V Francis, J. Henderson, 9m; J. Jacob, J McDonald, R. Clarke, 10m; C. Slack, N Healey, K. Rae,' 10m 30s; W. Guy, 19m i A. Freeman. W. Pratney. 23m.

THE CASH RIDERS

Last Saturday afternoon the Auck- | land Cycle Club decided a 19.4 mile , road race over the Mangere circuit, j Weather conditions always play an i important part. Therefore, when a j field of 15 faced the starter, it was i viewed as very satisfactory. The roads j were very slippery, which accounted j for the falling of one rider during the ; race. The time returned, 52min lOsec, was good, under the conditions. Undoubtedly the outstanding feature ; of Saturday’s race was the fine per- j formance of the veteran, W. Hills. He ! rode his usual hard race to gain his 1 first straight-out win this season. It ; will be remembered that recently he j dead-heated for first with Lowndes. Hills showed that he is still to be j reckoned with. G Hall. 4min, second, finished within inches of his co-marker, in a most j thrilling conclusion to a road race, j This is the nearest he has been to j victory in a road competition for some j considerable time. In fact, he has not I won since his triple victories when he first entered the professional ranks. Tim Lowndes, 4min, rode prominently j throughout the race. He takes a dis- ! tinct delight in riding under such ! adverse conditions as were presented j by the showery weather last week. He 1 took advantage of the occasion to prove | himself a strong rider. He could not j see it out with Hills and Halls in j ■ the final sprint, but. nevertheless, did i! well to keep in front of the other 12 ! finishers, and ride into third position. ; ! Fastest time went to K. Mathieson. in company with {Storey, Potter and Archer, lie paced splendidly. Mathieson has previously not had the honour of making fastest time this season. Mathieson is a rider with a number of j years’ experience at the road racing ! game. His most notable performance 1 of late was when ho won the 32-mile j race to Papakura and back on June S. i He beat that high-class performer, S. ■ Hayes, on that occasion. A convert from the amateur ranks was a lad named Sercombe. He has not been riding for some time. The hard race told on him at the finish. He took his share of the pacing. J. Lindop, scratch, was a very spent rider at the finish. In track races a scratch man is always looked upon to win, but not so in a road race. If a lone scratch rider does not catch his first bunch then he is invariably out of the contest. His only chance lies in the possibility of gaining fastest time. In this respect Jim was hopelessly outclassed on Saturday, weather conditions being against him. * * * A most notable absentee the last fortnight has been Slater Hayes. His absence is missed by his co-marker as his pacing greatly assists in catching the field. Once again the three Papakura riders, Francis, Clarke and Slack, put in an appearance. However, they did not fill any of the placings. Their 32mile ride, beside the race, will fit them for the big classic on September 28. The mention of classic races brings ; to mind the fact that the premier i cycling event of the Dominion—the i Timaru to Christchurch road race, will be occupying the minds of our foremost professionals. This event is held on the week following the Auckland Club’s classic. Entries will close with the secretary, Mr. P. Lucas, on September 21. The club will hold its first annual Clevedon race on Saturday next. Members are very keen to win this splendid trophy, the Mabin Cup, presented by Mr. “Booker” Herring, vice-presi-dent of the club.