THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 42, 19 February 1931, Page 17

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

NEXT WEEK'S MEETING

NEWS AND NOTES

• interest in amateur cycling : /auks throughout the Dominion is now • tin-nod to the New Zealand eifauipioni ships, which arc to bo decided at Dun- ■ edin next week. There will bo several ; cyclists of some account debarred from : taking part on account of their asso- ■ ciation with tho "breakaway movei nient," but, as they represent but a very : small section, there will be no lack of ■ good talent at the meeting so, long as : most of the others are able to mako ; the trip. Canterbury and Otago will i be strongly represented, and there is ; a prospect of more than the two selectied "Wellington representatives —Gane : and Roe —taking part. The sport in ■ Dunedin haa been making excellent ! progress, and the gathering of Domin- : ion representatives should give it a : further big lift.. If Ericsson is able [ to join Gane and Roe, Wellington will i havu a trio that should give a good : account of itself, although the Wcl: ■ lington cyclists will bo tested severely :by the southerners. Nothing definite : Jias been heard as to whether T. Oat- : ley, of "Wairarapa, intends to bo a com- ; petitor. In any case, the Wellington i Gentre is entitled to only three rcprei sentativos so far as championship Jiou- ; ours are concerned. •> I I Gane and Oakley. : To give a good start along the road to I success aud better times, tho Auckland : Centre was depending ■ very largely i <5n the big meeting at which the Ameri- : can athletes took part at Auckland re- ■ cently, but besides the great attraction i of the American team other efforts were i made to overcome the apparently apa- : thetic attitude shown iv recent years !by the Auckland public. In this con- : neetion the Auckland Centre sought the ; support of the council of the New Zeai land Amateur Athletic • Association, ■ which gave the centre permission ', to invite- to Auckland \for the i meeting two well-known . athletes ; and three ' cyclists—Frank Grose (Canterbury), Milton Gano ■ (Wei- : lington), and T. Oakley (Masterton). ; Unfortunately, however, the meeting i clashed with AVellington provincial championship meeting, at which i tho form of the riders was to be : studied by the selector in choosinc a rider or riders for the New Zea- : land championship meeting at JDunedin. Tho form of neither Gano nor Oakley lately had been steady enough to warrant the selector giving either a place in the Wellington team without seeing them on trial at the provincial meeting. Oakley appeared lifeless at Masterton on Anniversary Day, and Ganawas short of his best at the Dewar Shield meeting, although he has since appeared to much better advantage. . ■ , Australian Championships. The Australian amateur cycling championships, which were to have commenced at the Canterbury Velodrome (Sydnby) last Saturday, are to be concluded next Saturday. Latest advxees by mail from Australia wero to the efieet that the championships were to be contested by representatives of. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and possibly; Western Australia, and it was also hoped that a rider would be there to represent New Zealand. Unfortunately, however, the movement to send Frank Groso broke down, and New Zealand lost the opportunity of having a splendid representative at the Australian, amateur championships for the first, time since D. M. Rodger won the mile in 1905. One reason for not sending a New Zealand cyclist was no doubt because of the *fact that the cyclist would miss- the New Zealand championships by going to Sydney. ~ The New South Wales nders at the championship were to be solected from the following:—Half mile and ono mile: D. Gray (Goulburn), H. Harper (Goulburn), J. Clark (Mascot), C. Bowles (Marrickville), D.. MacGregor (Goulburn), H. Pcthybridge (Marrickville), L. Standon (Marriekville), A. Ellis (Bnfleld-Burwood), B. M'Donald (Marrickville), and i;W. Fornance (St. George). Five miles and 10 miles-, D. Gray (Goulburn), J. Clark(Mascot), H. Harper (Goulburn), D. MacGregor (Goulburn), L. Standen (Mamckvillo), H Pethybridge (Marrickville), A. Ellis (Bnfield-Burwood), and W. A. Cashman (Marrickville). The State was likely to be represented by eight or nine riders in the half- mile and mile, and five or six in the other two championships. The Tasmanian representative at the championships is B. Dobson. Other senior competitors arc:— Vie? toria: J. Nicholls (Fairfield), L. Potter (Northcote), W. Bolwell (Northcote), D. Ncwlands (Carnegie). Queensland: T Briggs. T. AVallace. Tasmania: B. Dobson. South Australia: W. Knibbs. "Having regard to his.undoubted ability, it looks as though Duncan Gray (N S.W.), tho Olympic rider, who hails from Goulburn, will take a lot of beating in the senior events," states an Australian writer. Besides having an expert knowledge of tho Sydney board track, he is a brilliant rider, m fact, ono of the greatest amateurs m the world to-day. Though he is meeting with formidable opposition, I think he will provo the dominating factor. Victoria has a very versatile team, who may causo a mild surprise to the New South Welshmen. Apart from the fact that Australian titles are at stake, the form disclosed by the riders will form a basis on which to work when it comes to selecting riders for the Los Angeles Games next year." Queensland Doings. According to a report published in tho "Beferee" (Sydney), the Queensland amateur cycling championships, which wore decided recently and used as Test races for the selection of the riders to compote in tho Australian championships, were productive of tho wildest racing ever seen in Queensland cycling. Several riders, keen on the trip wero prepared to do anything to secure tho honour. Wallace and Briggs earned, their trip to Sydney by collecting two championships each, Wallace the half and iivo miles, and Briggs one and ten miles. They are both in brilliant form and it was expected that they would take a lot of beating. Briggs, who won the ten miles titles on Monday night, hit tho front at two to go, and wobbled his way to tho finish. Briggs wns fined for interferences, but was lot go tho previous week for a much more glaring breach iih winning tho milo title. Continuation oi: similar tactics is bound to bring about a serious accident. Australian Professionals. Grant Pye, the well-known New South Wales pedaller, who went to U.S.A. a few years ago, and Jack Standen, the former Olympic cyclist, wore victorious in tho New South Wales professional championship, decided on tho Sydney board track recently. Pyo won the half-mile title from Stnnden. Tho lastnamed, with a well-judged sprint ncaring tho lino, won. the five miles championship, but only after a stirring battle with Norm Gillroy, Bill Penman, Jimmy j Bea,fch, and Keith' Pfrv«fl,