Canterbury Track Men Fail In Trials

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31042, 23 April 1966, Page 18

Canterbury Track Men Fail In Trials

{From Our Cycling Reporter)

AUCKLAND.

Canterbury is very unlikely to provide any members of the Empire Games track cycling team, but its representatives showed at the final trials in Auckland last evening that they can compete with the best in 10-mile races.

The longest track event was virtually the only race left for each of M. W. Litolff, C. B. Fitzgerald and J. H. Cleary, and they responded in grand fashion.

They finished in that order, second, third and fourth, for Canterbury’s finest-ever placings in a national event of this type. Nationally, though, the final stage of the track trials established beyond any doubt that P. H. Robinson (Southland) would win a place as a sprinter, that D. A. Comparini (Nelson) would do likewise as a pursuit rider, and that D. L. Booth (Southland) made the strongest possible bid for the 10-mile berth.

[holder, was at one stage unlikely to come to Auckland for the final trials and it required a fair degree of persuasion from his fellow Southlanders for him to make the journey. His ride in the 10 miles established fairly clearly that he is one of the most consistent New Zealand riders, borne out by his record of two firsts and a fourth in the last three years in national title races.

I Robinson led him out perIfectly and with half the lap to ride, it was obvious Booth would have to fall off to lose. There was not much likelihood of that although Litolff and Fitzgerald were gathering him in a little at the finish.

Made Strenuous Demands Robinson also proved that he is very fit, for the selectors made’strenuous demands upon him. He was required to ride seven sprints—in one of which he was given a rerun—and won them all in a magnificent display of cunning, consistency and finishing strength. The national sprint titleholder, N. F. Joyce (West Coast, North Island), had six sprints but he was most unreliable and rarely looked likely to win a place over Robinson.

A lot, especially the fate of G. F. Wright (Wellington) and Dean, hangs on the time trials today, but it is very likely that Robinson and Comparini are definite nominations for the Empire Games and Booth and J. B. Bigwood (fifth in the 10 miles) strong possibilities. The rest will have to wait and see.

The pace was again reasonably strenuous Comparini once more doing the donkey work—and at the bell, when Cleary led. Booth was sitting on Robinson’s wheel.

Comparini repeated Thursday evening’s ride when he again came from behind to beat S. J. Stephen (Canterbury) in the individual pursuit. His smin 21.8 sec was not very flattering but J. A. Dean (West Coast, North Island), his only possible challenger at that stage, lost to I. Lemon (Waikato) by inches. Booth, the national title-