Sportsman Swart

Press, 12 November 1977, Page 12

Sportsman Swart

By

RAY CAIRNS

Jack Swart not only surprised himself, the remainder of the field and the army of tour followers when he finished second in both general classification and the King of the Mountains section in last week’s Dulux seven-day. Swart also won the “Sportsman's Cup” at the conclusion of the tour. The terms of reference for this award are rather vague, but the awarding of it to Swart no doubt recognised his mighty performance in performing so well — for he also won four stages, a record — on a less-than-thorough build-up for the tour. Swart’s winter has been spent mainly in training with the prospective Commonwealth Games team pursuit squad rather than doing the long miles necessary to seriously contest a seven-day tour. Swart was a very late entry for the tour, and was not expected to last very much longer than two or three days. Instead, he

went on and on, collecting stage victories and winning hill climbs, although suffering a number of punctures. In one respect Swart’s job was made more simple than he might have imagined. He blew badly on the first stage and, more than 71 min down, was not considered a threat. Accordingly, Swart was allowed to sit on, he was allowed away to win stages, and all the time, he edged back into contention. Finally, between Wanganui and Palmerston North, Swart got in the crucial break that gave him second place. Ma! Powell, the Australian team manager, paid Swart a high compliment when he said the tall, blond Morrinsville 22-year-old was the finest cyclist he had seen in adverse situations and conditions. He was probably thinking, too, that Swart would be fearsome in the sevenday tour if he was properly conditioned for its demands.