CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 37, 13 February 1929, Page 13

CYCLING.

WITH THE AMATEURS. CHAMPIONSHIP PROSPECTS. COMING EVENTS. \Y"duetn!.iy. February IX — One Mile Handicap. Cat-law Park! r..4."> p.m. Saturday. February l'i—Championship M.ctiiiL.-. Carlaw Park. Sunday February 17—Club Run. HeinlerKiin" Domain. Leave l'ohsonb.v Reservoir lo a.m. Weln, s.lay. F.'hruary 2"—Half mile Handicap. March 2—II«-ndcr>"tt Clubs M.-,tiii-. By iiernii>.~inii nf the Ku.-l.y League the one mile haiidicap for thi* iWodiu-s----duyl evctiiiijr will be held at Caiiaw J'aVk. where Mr. F. ilayvviiid has laid nut a line fmir-lap track in preparation for the clian!]>ioiishi]> nicctinu. Tin , -Maiiukau Aniaifiir Cydiiifr Chili's animal live mile race fur the House Cup. which is for perja-tual couijictitinn. each M'itxiifs winner roceivinir a miniature, proved an extremely diltictilt race to follow "ii account nf the I>itr handicap limit. 770 yds. which meant that the scratch man. J. H. Wadi , . was roncediiifr cue lap and :i:iuy<is to the two limit men, A. Kci-d and H. Farrer. Jt was a wonder to many that Wade faced the starter at ail. Twenty-two started in the. event, and on the seventh lap fourteen were liiliiiL' Tivliati lile. ]ire>entin,LT a line spectacle with their different coloured jerseys. Wade and Xankivell went out in an endeavour to drop this hunch on which they were expected to gain a full lap. They a fairly brisk pace for a few la J i>. and CMii>o<[Uelltly nliook otf M-veral nf the riders, but Cleaver (till) yds). Alilrvrl (tMHiydsl. Taylor (oSOyds). '.McKlmy (31(lyd>). and 'Roberts '(4W yd>) reinaiiied with them, and try as they miulit they could not open a pip from the last mentioned five. Roberts was the only rider to μ-o out and take a lap from thp two back-markers, the others bcin.LT content to lay in shelter. fijll well knowing that they were a lap in the L r nod. At the commencement of the twentieth and final lap Roberts had the front position, and crammed on the puce throughout the quarter-mile to win by four lonjrths from Aldred and Cleaver. The back-markers, Wade and Xankivell, 70yds, had then another lap to do. and went, on to complete the distance in 13m 4fis, Wade winning the sprint. The winner's time for the five miles was lHm 10s. Robert.-' ridinir of late has shown remarkable improvement. He lias, won four track events this season, the last three wins beinjr within the last week. He only commenced racing- this year, and consequently cannot be seriously considered in the championships, but with the gaininjr of a little more track experience will be amongst the foremost sprinters in Auckland.

Rco-iirdinar tlie clashing , of dates between tlif Henderson and Utaliuhu t'lulis. both of whom hud a meeting scheduled for March 1. the president of the Auckland Centre reports having received no application from the latter club, thus Henderson, who had applied early last month and been granted permission, will l>o. holding their sports on that particular day. Naturally the Otahuhu Club will have to consider some ■ ither date, which will b< , announced later. At present February 2.'i is the only available date, for every Saturday aftcrniioii right up to .March Jti is booked.

A club run wi.l lie hold to the Henderson Domain, where that club's newly formed cycle track may be seen next Sunday, leaving the Ponsnnhy Keservnir ;it JO a.m. The day will be spent there. swimniinjr and a cricket match occupying the time.

l.;i~t Saturday afternoon a one mile handicap was decided at I'urlaw I'ark. The primary object of the race- was to give competitors in the Auckland provincial championships an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the track. The track i< even in better condition than when raced upon in 11)24. and the times for hoth of the heats and the final —2m 30 l-.")s. 2m 2!" 2-.">s and 2ni 2S 2-f>s respectively—-of the above-mentioned race arc ample proof that the grass track is capable of holding the fastest of cycle riders. Only one spill occurred during the afternoon, and that could be directly attributed to negligent riding of a competitor by cutting across a fellow competitor without giving sufficient margin of safety. Wade, the scratch man. had little difficulty in cither his heat or the final in winning. In the final, at the bell lap, he was with the field, at the head of which was L. l'». Roberts. 70yds. and just entering the back straight he took charge of affairs and continued on to win with apparent ease .from X. Fisher. SOyds. and S. Baird. •V>yds. Taylor"* finish in second place in the second heat aroused adverse -onimcnt from several. In the absence of a referee no action could he taken.

The championship meeting at Carlaw Park next Saturday should provide plenty of interest, especially amongst the cycle events, for in past years M. I'. Byrnes has monopolised affairs. As stated la>t week Byrnes will not be competing, and in consequence the cycle races will be fairly open, although present form points to ,1. H. Wade as the winner of the three championship dis-tances=-half. one and two mile. Xankivell wil] be his most serious rival, although in the half-mile H. G. Brewin will need watching, as also will F J Casey in the two miles, both of whom are particularly good at their respective -pet -, distances. J. Whitten has just recovered from a slightly poisoned leg. and has had very little opportunity to train, but intends starting provided his leg gives no further trouble. Of one thing spectators may be assured, and that is there will be no loafing tactics in the cycle championships, Wade and Uhitten will sec to that.

Instead of <-< hi tin in lt the cycle events to eight selected ri.lers the Auckland Centre are receiving entries from all amateur wheelmen who wish to compete. The centre have already chosen a cycle referee vvh.i-e word regarding disputes is final. There, will he no" such thing a- giving a caution. On Saturdav it behoves all competitors to he on their best behaviour during the progress of the races.

The two mile race held at the Domain on Monday evening was undoubtedly the finest race this year, for the gradual closing up of the field and the sood pacing amongst the back markers'was well worth watching. With two laps to go the field of twelve was bunched, and at the commencement of the last lap Nankivell had the lead with Wade, and the held in clo>e attendance. Entering the back straight Wade managed to attain premier position, but Xankivell and S. Baird went with him. and the trio left the field to fight out a close finish. Wade winning by a clear length in the fast time of 4ni 57?. which can he taken as exceptionally pood considering that the winner was with the field at two laps to go. and. therefore, not necessarily fully extended for the full eight laps. J'he finish of this event may beregarded as a fair criterion of the results of the championships next Saturday. Wade, this season in club races alone, has had five wins, a second and a third.