National Cycling Meeting Helped Games Selectors

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28536, 15 March 1958, Page 5

National Cycling Meeting Helped Games Selectors

rpHE New Zealand amateur cycling- championships held at Palmerston North last week provided the national selectors with an opportunity to reduce their list of potential nominees for Empire Games selection. But the meeting did not solve the selection problem completely. The selectors will have no difficulty in making their No. 1 nomination, for W. D. H. Dalton (Auckland) proved at the meeting that he has no rival in New Zealand for the 1000 metre time trial and the 4000 metre individual pursuit events. Should his nomination be approved by the Empire Games selectors he should have every chance of winning both these events at the Games. The choice of a No. 2 nomination is still difficult. In his performances this season W. Johnston (Waikato), the national sprints champion, must be seriously considered. He has also competed in the world championships and secured a fourth placing at the 1956 Olympic Games. But he is still inferior to the two Australians, I. Browne and R. Ploog, and should he be sent to the Games the best that could be expected of him would be a third. As he has already had two trips overseas without notable success, the selectors may well feel

that another rider should be given a chance. If Johnston is selected he will probably be nominated as No. 2. Should the selectors pass him over, however, it is likely that the No. 2 position will be filled by the road team, for which five nominations have been made for the four-man team. Another who appears to have an excellent chance of selection is B. Kitchen (West Coast, North Island). When Ploog equalled the then New Zealand record of 12Jsec for the 500 metre sprint. Kitchen was only half a wheel behind him and he was a similar distance from Johnston in the semi-final of the same event at the national championships after being two lengths behind at the 220 yards mark. He is a determined rider with a great sprint. A. Larkins (Otago) must also be given some consideration for the 10-mile scratch race. He is a master of breakaway tactics—a stratagem often employed in the Olympics and Empire Games. Judging by overseas performances, it would seem that New Zealand’s hopes of winning gold medals are confined to the time trial, the individual pursuit and the 10-mile events, and it would not be surprising to find that the selectors nominate riders for these three races.