CYCLING.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 October 1922, Page 3

CYCLING.

THE WARRN A M B 0 O L—M ELB OU RNE”r A C E? The distance of the Warrnambool-Melbonra-' road race is 165 miles, and is the premier road event of Australasia. This year’s entries closed with the remarkable total of 346. There were three official representatives of this Dominion in the race, and each took a prominent part in the final decision of the event. Phil O’Shea, the veteran road-racer, holds the road championship of New Zealand, putting up the fastest time .from scratch in the Timaru to Christchurch road rate on September 23. He had previously won the Timaru-Christchurch race on two occasions, In 1909, when he had a handicap of 45 min., and in 1913, when he won from, scratch. O’Shea has on five occasions secured the fastest time in the New Zealand event, viz., in 1911, 1913, 1914, 1921, and 1922. P. Hill, the winner of Saturday’s race in Victoria, comes from New Brighton, near Christchurch. In the Timaru-Christchurch event, Hill put up the fastest time of the handicap men, and was only beaten by O’Shea, who was on the scratch mark. D. Wright, who finished fifth on Saturday, comes from Reefton. It is a coincidence that the three New Zealand competitors in the Warrnambool-Melbourne race finished eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth in the New Zealand event; O’Shea was on scratch, Hill received a handicap of 20 min., and Wright was on the 22 mln. mark.