CYCLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 32, 7 February 1934, Page 14

CYCLING.

• WITH THE AMATEURS. MANUKAU CLUB. FIXTURES. Saturday, February 10.—Sports at Sturgess Park, Otahuhu, 2 p.m. Sunday. February 11.—Mission Bay Run, 2 p.m., and Muriwai, at S a.m. Saturday. February 17. —Dominion Championships, Wellington. Wednesday, February 2S.—Auckland Frovlncial Cycle Championships. Very few of the Manukau Club riders competed at the events held at the Domain grass track last Saturday on the occasion of the annual athletic championship carnival. The majority of the riders have concentrated on banked track work this season and therefore find little appeal in racing on the grass.

None of the Manukau riders was able to record a win in any of the three open handicaps held on Saturday. The Dwight brothers were the only members to gain placings. Chas. T. Dwight rode second in the two-mile off 160 yds, while Henry R. Dwight (scr) finished third, but well back, in the three-miler. The times in all the events were fast for a grass track and this fact would account for the absence of back men among the placings.

More supervision of the racing machines is required at sports meetings. One rule states that no machine with any projections of a dangerous nature will be permitted on a track. Yet the only accident which occurred on the afternoon was caused through a rider fouling the projecting rear axle of another rider's rear wheel.' Mai. P. Byrnes was the unfortu-

nate rider. He. did not fall, but had o ease up and retire Byrnes was ma handy position at the time »W were keen to see how he wouldL tare against the Dwight brothers. It was in the three-miler, in which he staited ori scratch with Henry and Les. Dwight. The Auckland Amateur has decided to conduct the »">r"W cycling championships on Wednesday even ing, February 28, at the Western Springs Stadium banked track It looped, to see riders from Rotorua, Cambudge, Hamilton and Ngaruawalna competing at the meeting, for cycling is / ast ,™ m,n S into prominence in the country distncts. The titles will be the one. kilometre unDaced the two-lap sprint and the nveniiles with lap prizes. Mai Byrnes won the sprint and unpaced titles last year and Les. Dwight gained the nve-mdes title This season it is quite possible that Manukau riders may not sweep the board as they did last year. The Dominion championships are to be decided on a grass track at Wellington on February 1G and 17. At ast year s cycling conference it was resolved to conduct future Dominion title events on a banked track and it would be interesting to know what has prevented the newlyformed Cycling Association from abiding bv the decisions of the conference. Lack of a suitable track if not the reason, for at Petone is a splendid cycling oval. What the public likes to see is real fast racing and close, exciting finishes, and that is just what they witness on banked tracks, which allow of high speeds with perfect safety. Next Saturday events will he held, at Sturgess Park. Otahuhu. and the following Wednesday the club will conduct events at the Western Springs track. A two-mile open and an open one-mile junior race are to be held, while for club members an Australian, type of pursuit race will be staged, for which entries close next Saturday. In this latter event riders started at" equal distances apart on the track and must retire on being overhauled oy another rider. The winner is. the rider who displaces the most rulers in a given distance, say, five miles.