Top Riders In Six-Day

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32114, 9 October 1969, Page 19

Top Riders In Six-Day

“The Press" Special Service

WELLINGTON.

The strongest cycling entry assembled in New Zealand since the 1950 Empire Games will gather in Auckland for the Dulux six-day road tour from Auckland to Wellington on November 2 to 8.

Besides the 36 New Zealanders entered, there are 16 from . Australia and eight from New Caledonia.

At the time entries closed on September 30, negotiations were still taking place with three other Australians. Leading the Australians will be D. Wilson (Victoria) and B. Ry alls and D. Watson, both of New South Wales.

Ryalls was second in the Examiner tour of Tasmania and won the Grafton-to-Inver-ell 142-mile classic last month. Watson is no stranger to New Zealand, having been fourth in the tour in 1967. He had to be content with second place behind a former New Zealander, D, R. Thomson, in the Australian road title race this year. W. D. Dalton (Auckland), who has made a successful comeback as a reinstated amateur, is one of two previous winners competing again. The other is D. Browne (West Coast-North Island) who won the tour last year. One New Zealand entry of particular interest is that of a former Englishman, B. Stone,

of Paraparaumu, who will attempt to set a record from Cape Reinga to Bluff next week.

Nine of last year's first 12 —Browne, D. Gee (Wellington), M. Vertongen (West Coast-North Island), M. Davis, A. Ineson (Southland), H. Kent (Wellington), B. Pascoe (Waikato), J. Atkinson and R. Hogan (Auckland) — have entered again. Other prominent riders will be the new internationals, P. Baker (Wellington) and toe 1969 national 100-mile champion, B. Biddle (Auckland), R. Jaques (Waikato), B. Cornish (Wellington) and R. D. Thomson (Auckland).