No. 1 Cyclist Not Decided

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 15

No. 1 Cyclist Not Decided

(from NORMAN HARRIS. **New Zealand Herald" Reporter/

TOKYO, October 1.

An interesting twist was yesterday given to a tricky situation in the arrangement of the New Zealand Olympic cycling teams for the 100-kilometre team time trial and the individual road race.

There is a requirement for the cyclists in the individual road race to ride as a team and work for a predetermined “No. 1” man. This was the basis on which a full squad was nominated and selected for the race, and it must be adhered to. However, although L. J. Byers was originally nomin-

ated as No. 1 and R. D. Johnstone as No. 2 in a ranked list, there is some divergence of opinion as to which rider has the better prospects. While Byers was campaigning in France, gaining experience and proving his ability, Johnstone was making a remarkable comeback in New Zealand which culminated in his decisively winning the New Zealand Olympic trial. Johnstone has been named as captain—though probably this award was made not solely on the basis of ability, but largely for his long experience. Obviously there was some worth in considering naming the No. 1 for the individual race at this stage and deleting him from the team time trial, enabling him to train exclusively for the demands of the longer, tougher circuit. Johnstone Excluded The twist given yesterday was a statement by the team manager, Mr R. Carruthers, that unless circumstances required alteration of the decision, Johnstone would be excluded from the team for the 100-kilometre time-trial. However, Mr Carruthers added that Johnstone will not necessarily be the No. 1 man in the individual race, which follows the team time trial by several days. The choice would lie between Johnstone and Byers, he said. Asked if Johnstone’s deletion from the team trial was governed by selection according to form solely for this event or the consideration of the later race—in other words a deletion or a reservation — Mr Carruthers said that both factors had been considered. The two road cycling events have now emerged with widely differing requirements because the team has found that the course they understood to be of only undulating terrain was not all of the I circuit —the part they had 'not seen included a fearsome hill. j This hill is one and a quarj ter miles long and has a grade iof one in five, grim by any ■standards and requiring what I cyclists refer to as “a clog” las opposed to “pedalling.” The circuit must be negotiated nine times, and nine times up this hill seems to indicate that only a small group of strong men will remain to the finish.