CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 44, 22 February 1927, Page 15

CYCLING.

LAMB AT CHRISTCHURCH. IiOOD TIMES RECORDKI).

ißy ".SPEEDY." i

i.. • Canterbury Anutour Athletic L.-litre held a complimentary athLtie and cycling meeting at English Park Suuliiiin hist Wednesday evening in ii'iiiour ui' tiif visiting Australian chaini'i"i: cyclist. K. W. Lamb. The weather "a- warm and iniid. and there iva< a very i.i •■•■- attendance of the public. In the ■-- ■• - mill' invitation scratch race. Lanili -••• i good position in the la-t lap and •■'•••i i'.v a length. A. \V. Day leading '•[.i»e home liy halt a 1 •ngth. The time wa.s li 4 -2-.'i~. l.r.i-e alsj rode in t'.:e onemile handicap. I.ut although he wmi his heat in -2.'.» l-.~>. lie could not find a place in the final, which was won bv V. Curt in i Uoydsi in 2. 4 1 ... in the two miles invitation scratch race (paced', the pacemakers set a merry -peed. Lamb raced to the front along the back the la-t time. Grose made a line effort in the straight but. in an exciting finish. Lamb won by halt a wheel, time 4.17. The above races prove there is little to chouse between Lamb and Grose. In equity to Cro-e. it should be mentioned that i; rose's machine suffered considerable damage in his spill in Auckland, and as he would have only two days to become u-cd to a new maeii.i.e. he could not be expected to ride as well as formerly. ft nod times were recorded at the above meeting. The two miles invitation ••cratch race, which was paced, was done in 4.17. which is good time for the distance. The hardest worked man in the race was .1. IJ. I'Ansoii. who eventually finished third. This rider followed the pacemakers, and on occasions these pacers did not u-e much tact, and ran away from the field. I'Anson picket! up these gaps in brilliant style, consequently suffering in the sprint. At Uunedin on Saturday, Lamb again rode with Miives*. He appears to be Used to the cor.ditions of track racing in the Dominion now. and his future meetings with Grose and I'Anson will be looked forward to even more keenly than previously. A triangular match race was scheduled for decision between Lamb, Grose and I'Anson at Christchurcli last night. THE CASH RIDERS. The racing at the Mairehau Sports Club's meeting at English Park. Christchurch, on Saturday week was of a very high order. It is seldom such close finished have been witnessed at the stadium. A feature of the meeting was the large fields, this being in strong contrast to recent meetings there. The star event was the match race between \V. R. Willmott. the Timaru crack, and X. H. Goodman (ex-amateur). This race is acknowledged as one of the best of the kind held at the stadium. There was very little to choose between the two performers, and the result was in doubt until the final distance was run. This race was more or less an experiment, and also served to educate the [the young riderc in the art of match Tracing. Goodman was too fast for the Timaru rider, as after riding a dead heat in the first distance, he wot the other two, though only by a small margin in each rase. Goodman will probably be matched against a Christchurcli crack in the near future. Henry Mills, another ox-amateur, acted as pacemaker in this match race, and performed the 'duty with credit. In the first heat of the half-mile, he carried the rider* through in 63 4-."is. . In the half-mile handicap. Slater Hayes, the Aucklander. was prominent, winning his heat in good time. Owing to the large number of finalists. Hayes •was unable to get through to secure a place in the final. The .Mairehau Wheel Race of 1.l miles was appreciated by the public, the longer di.-tance being a change from the short sprints. In some of the heats the riders were inclined to loef. an.- in the third heat the pace slowed down to fifteen miles an hour, when the backmarkcrs overhauled the limit riders. The referee promptly disqualified all except Good and Pither. In the final the field, with the exception of Mackie. finished in a bunch, the judges finJit.g difficulty in placing the riders. C. Austin registered a long-overdue win at the stadium. Although very successful at count ry meetings. Austin has rarely been placed at the stadium. To get a"place in such a strong field was no mean performance, and stamps him as a rider well above the average. The road champion, H. G. Watson, finished second, and shows he has improved in the sprint. In the five miles Canterbury championship O'Shea rode with his old dash, but was hard pressed to withstand the strong challenge of Mackie, who finished second. The victory was popular with the public, the veteran receiving a round of applause. In the half-mile second and third-class handicap, Slater Hayes was again prominent in both heat and final, but could not foot it with the winner (Condon), who has had much more experience than Hayes. The one mile St. Patrick's wheel race •it Christchurch. on March 19 carries V.iO as prize money. The quarter-mile Australasian championship has been allocated to the Vorth ( anterbury Centre, and will be decided at an early date. Willie Mackie. motor-paced champion oi the Dominion, intends leaving for New York shortly. He will be Taking the sport up there, his chief feature being motor-paced racing. Hubert Opoerman. Australia's allround champion, will probably spend a few days in this Dominion next month, when on his way to America. The Victorian quarter-mile, one mile and halfmile champion. Eric Gibaud, will accompany "Oppy." As "Speedy" is leaving Auckland. arrangements 1 iv C been made for an abler writer to pen these notes, under the nom-de-plume of "Sprocket."' "Speedy'' wishes to thank those who have read his notes in the past.