CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 16, 19 January 1901, Page 4 (Supplement)

CYCLING.

At tlic lnsl meeting1 of the North Canterbury Centre of tho N.Z.. League of Whcolmcn tin anonymous lot tor \v«» received uinl forwiii'tliHl l>y M»v !'•• N"i'(l<hi, of Anliliurton. Minting Hint s\ nor* lulu eninpolll'or ill tlie eiuninn' sports In Anekliiiul 'Jtsul ln'okon Imm Klnlun us mi iitti(ittiut\ ll WiiM iloctitotl to rofei' tli t i li'itov to die AuoUland (Vul-w».

in connect Inn with the coining Chittupioiinhip of this f.t»tt{fu«\ li !m« boon HiiytJopiiMl Hull sin attempt tn> made In get Kovhps. Hunt, ftiul Body, tiiul mtnin of tW Aiish'tiiUui orttokM, to ih)?Up uvor. Tin? secretary him be«M\ itmlruoted to write in Melbourne to rpC w lull enn lie dune.

A( Urn pihl of; t his wason \V. Miti'liu. the .Anierioaii crack's, winning's fioin c.vole t'tioittg' will lip fnntut <>v If very hti'ftri Up abnt'ted his wintiin^ utHvtnnu nn NoveinlnM1 Mi Uiul d\niu|j- the ne\( ply weeks won jttst an lmoo. On tJ»o dny lifl srtHl'tPti winning Mtu-tin nwiioxml tile (wo principal cvcnln, The tliwp (liivr" -Ansli'stl Jnowtihjj followod. find MaiHin'R oh'equp ft'Uin it. w^a i'ais, At Chfiahiifts ■fiml New V^iu1 holktay mrpflM»a iti Victoria, Mtti'ttn was nlnittpi invinoihlrl, and his winHin^'m from ihrtn nnumntpd to £200. "Vhn American crnck also Won a big1 clirqiir in the J/yne Wheel Kace at Sydney.

If Martin retains his present remarkable form to the end of the season, his winnings will amount to over £ 1000. Even if he does not win another cent, he has had a good season. His record for the last six weeks has never beeu equalled by any rider on an Australian track. His best performance since the Austral meeting was liis win of the. Eallarat Wheel Race on Boxing Dny, the Ist prize for which was £ 70. Altogether on Boxing" Day he won £84 10/.

Ivor Lawson, the American sprinter, is (according to Sydney papers) showing" wonderful improvement with every appearance, and is now nearly at his best. Lawson left' a wonderful record behind him in America, and "he is now riding1 \ip to his home reputation. Judging by his riding- in Sydney last week, Lawson is going- to be a powerful factor in the scratch races and handicaps this season. In Victoria recently he succeeded in getting placed in the finals of different handicaps, and has occupied second place in the finals of several scratch events. He 'is without doubt the fastest of the three Americans who recently arrived, and will shortly establish the fact that he is just as good a rider as his fel-low-countryman, Martin, who has performed go well in Australia. Our London correspondent writes (December 7): —"The almost continuous downpour that has greeted Messrs W. Tierney and .T. M. Gilberd since their arrrival in the Old Country from New York has not given; them a very favourable impression of the Motherland. Both seem fairly fit, I in spite of the recent fever of the former and t"h e bad knee of the latter.

"Mr Tierney was unlucky in beingbitten by the malarial mosquito just as he was getting- into form. His racing1 career in America was thereby cut very short. Arriving in New York in June it was two months before he really got to work, as he had to wait while a new machine was made for him. The wheel adopted by him was the "Elk," a little-known machine, but one on which a woman had recently put up a six days record. However, •American riders were rather taken by the New Zealander's mount. In August he was training on the Manhattan Beach three-lap cement track, where he had the opportunity of riding alongside "Jimmy" Michael, Major Taylor, and other cracks. Tierney was very enthusiastic about Michael, whose motors he frequently followed. He describes the American as hospitality itself, and doing1 everything in his poAver to help his Antipodean comrade. Tiernan improved rapidly, and developed a sprint, His first race was a half-mile scratch contest at the Yailsburg Board Track, Jersey City, one Sunday. He was beaten in "his heat by a wheel by Kramer, who is quite at home on the track, of which he is the biggest shareholder. Tierney was more successful in the two mile handicap, which he won from the 200 yards mark, beating "Tom" Cooper, Kramer, Kaiser, and Walthour, tli c last of whom won the individual prize at the six days' meeting at. Maddison Square last year. At Manhattan Beach he got a touch of malarial fever. He gave up riding, and eventually had to lie up. Finally, the doctor suggested a complete change, and Tierney came across to England, feeling quite "himself again after crossing the herring pond. He is staying at Stratford, in Essex, but leaves for the Antipodes in a fortnight's time, and may possibly stop a while in Melbourne and Sydney. In New York he was invited to contest in the six days' meeting, but hadn't a mate, and wasn't inclined to ride as an American, the rules stipulating that all competitors must Tide in pairs and wear tlieir national colours. In fact, all through his training Tierney was much handicapped by having no companion to do "the donkey's work" for him. However, he will bring back to the colonies several new wrinkles in Wheeling picked up from Michael and Major Taylor.

'".Prior to his meeting Messrs Tierney and Reynolds at Manhattan Beach last June, Mr Gilberd had spent six months in California, and another couple of months travellings, through the chief cities in the States, partly on business and partly on pleasure. Among- the sights witnessed by both cyclists was the terrible Hoboken* lire. liiey also saw the saloons of Oorbett and Sullivan, and something of l<ltzshnmons. They were very hospitably treated by numerous clubs in America and spoke very highly in particular of the ''Olympic.'.' in San Francisco, and of the exertions on their behalf by Mr Batehelor. the head of the X.C.A. in New York.

"Mv Gilberd will winter in London, and after touring- in Scotland, Ireland, France, and the Continent o-ene-rally, will wend his way homeward."