CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 252, 25 October 1933, Page 15

CYCLING.

WITH THE AMATEURS. ROAD SEASON ENDS. MANUKAU CLUB. rV;V FIXTURES. Wednesday, November S.—Annual Meeting. Saturday, December I).—Auckland Club s Sports, \\ estern tipriugs. Manukau Club members have every reason, to be proud of their club's road champion, Lies. JLi. I)wight, who beat the best of tlie Dominion's amateur road riders op Saturday last in the annual 102 miles race from Palmerston North to Wellington. The race started at 9.27 a.m. in light rain and a. bitterly cold wind. Only nve scratched and 70 started. .Fourteen riders used speed gears. 1' our of the live scratch men, _ Grose, Kichards, Lawrence and 1) oubister, used three-speed geai's, while Les". Dwight pinned his faith to a 79:incli free-wheel gear. Watching Dwight climb the notorious Paekakariki Hill, 70 miles front.the start, in bright sunshine, was a revelation in hill work. Grose, the only other scratch man to survive the pace to this stage, despite liis chain gears, had to let Dwight ride away from him half a mile from the top, which Dwight breasted with 100 yds advantage. With his 104 top gear and the down hill run Grose caught up again, and the pair then remained together to the finish on the bowling green-line surface of the Basin Reserve in Wellington. -Grose entered the ground first, but on the quarter-mile track Dwight took the lead on the back straight, and glancing at Grose up the straight won by a length in 5h 6m 565, good time for a ride against a cold head wind. Foubister landed in with Geo. Clark 43.0 later. Jim Leather was the first Manukau man in, but was 19th to finish. All six completed the distance, and the team was successful in bringing back the - teams' shield which was also won by the club in 1931. While Les was on his victorious ride, Chas. T. Dwight, his brother, won the Auckland 17 miles unpaced junior road championship in 52.13, and upheld liis reputation gained in his club's championship 15-miler, which he also won. Charles is a hefty lad, and there is every prospect of him attaining the prominence in the sport of his two brothers, Henry and Les. The Manukau, Club's team in the 23 miles teams' race ran third. But as dt was a second grade team, the better riders being down South for the big race, little else could be expected. E. D. Andrews, L. M. Nicholson, Fred. Markham and i Jack Brown comprised the team. Brown experienced mechanical trouble, while Markham fouled Nicholson and ripped five spokes out of his rear wheel but continued. However, much can be gained even by defeat. Labour Day sports at the Domain grass track attracted few wheelmen but an enormouscrowd, which ran amok at times and held up proceedings in its enthusiasm to get as near the track as possible. Sixteen in the mile was the biggest field. Fred. Markham, Ernie D. Andrews and Roy Taylor accounted for three of the four races. Markham won the half off 20yds in 1.10,] Andrews, in a spirited finish won the two-niiler 'off .2yds in 5.28, and Roy Taylor, in his new club colours, light blue and dark blue jersey, won the hardest race of the day, the miss ond out event, in which 15 started. - Western Springs has been engaged by the Auckland Club for December 9 next, Papatoetoe Club intends to conduct a meeting at its local speedway on December 2, and on November 18 a field day ; will be held, at Ellerslie. Riders who wish to ride at the Tuesday evening meetings at the Papatoetoe track must arrange with Mr. H. C. Webster of the Papatoetoe Club.

The official placings of the six Manukau Amateur Cycling Club's riders who competed -in the eighth annual Palmerston North to Wellington road cycle race of 102 miles last Saturday were: — 10th—Jim Leather (10.0), riding time, 5h J6m 2Ss. ■ . „ 25th —Les. H. Dwight (scr). 5h Cm 565. 3tst—Chas. A. Clarke (16.0), 5h 27m Is. 38th—Jack C. Dolores (20.0). 5h 40m 2s. 49th—Geo. P. Clark (16.0), 6h 7m 21s. 51st —Ron. G. Foubister (scr), 5h 51m 21s. Les. Dwight was the fastest rider, while Leather was fourth fastest and Clarke eleventh on time. AUCKLAND AMATEURS. Last Saturday saw. the final road races of the season, the events being a junior championship and a terms' race oi 23 miles, both being conducted by the cycling centre. This club had only one entrant for the junior championship in S. Windsor, who, although he has only started racing this winter, rode- a good, race to finish fifth. This rider next season should be one of the mainstays of a good junior section of the club. The senior teams race was a great victory for this club, for the team consisting of G. Patrick, R. Arvidson, W. Barry and A. Keith, with only the first three counting in the finish, won by nearly two minutes from the next team. After starting in fourth position the team caught the Lynndale team on the Vt aikumete hill and at the Swanson turn for home were 40s ahead of the Manukau team, which had separated owing to accidents, and one minute ahead of the Papatoetoe team. From there, with the wind behind them, the pace was clapped on for them to finish two minutes ahead of Papatoetoe, with Manukau a further 27s back. On Monday the track season opened with the usual Labour Day events at the Domain. This club was not very well represented, for most of the riders have had a very hard season on the road, and are very wisely giving racing a spell. However, this club managed to secure a few pi a rings through Arnold Keith, who was riding at the top of his form.. The mile event he won very easily, and in the two-mile heat be surprised everyone by iumping at the bell and leaving the. field with a beautiful last lap sprint to Win by several lengths. In the final he tried to do the -fiame, but the others were not to be caught napping again, and they were ready for him, and m an exciting finish Ernie Andrews won bv half a wheel from Keith with -Jack Clark a similar distanee back. Another rider to surprise was G. Thackwell, who held on well m the miss-and-out race, while W. Crocker also made a game effort. There will be a , m , ec f t ™ B elect the track officials of the club for the 1033-34 season in the Domain next Sunday.