Cycling shirkers no credit to sport or themselves

Press, 14 June 1978, Page 20

Cycling shirkers no credit to sport or themselves

By

RAY CAIRNS

If the unsatisfactory aspect of the too-long handicaps — resulting in no challenges to the frontmarkers for victory — are ignored, the week-end’s pair of •‘short” cycling classics provided some interesting talking points. The most satisfactory are the strides being made by some of the younger riders, particularly firstyear juniors; but a disquieting factor is the increasing number of riders — and young ones among them — who show no inclination to do their bit for their bunch. Sitting on is as old as cycling itself; the “squatter,” unhappily, will never disappear from the sport, just as he will never be considered a decent cyclist by his fellows and betters, just as he will continue to fail at the highest level.

All the same, it is disturbing to note how many make no positive contribution to a race, save at the finish, and the worstaffected bunch this season has been on the break mark, just out from scratch. Theoretically, this should consist of a group of riders in the top dozen or so in Canterbury, but some of its efforts have been pathetic and rather one-sided. Of those who have spent the season so far of open and inter-club races in this bunch, only Mark

Nichols and Paul Flattery have been worthy of the mark, and their rewards have and will come. Nichols had a particularly outstanding race on Saturday, in the DB Harbour race, dropping all his bunch on Gebbies Pass, being caught by that outstanding scratch-man, Blair Stockwell, and staying with him to the finish. It was a particularly fine effort from the firstyear junior and New Zealand boys’ champion, who had also proved the only break mark man capable of staying with the scratch riders in the season's opening race. Bruce Brunton, another junior, though more experienced. has always been a willing worker and he was “promoted” to the scratch mark on the weekend with mixed results: finding things just a bit tough in the Harbour race, but a worthy member of the back mark in the Amanda Wilks Shield event. His second fastest time placing has probably earned him a longer tenure of the mark, and Nichols may join him soon.

Flattery and Phillip Taylor, since* he went back on

the marks, have been the only others to earn any merit points; but the performance of the goodlooking 11 and 12min bunches on Saturday and Sunday — consisting virtually of the same riders — was a disquieting feature. On Saturday, Shane Smith and Steve Burdon — and just behind them, Terry Gyde — had splendid rides, Smith and Burdon performing well in harness but with no chance of ever closing the imposing gap facing them. But on both days, Smith found it necessary to go to the back of the bunch to remind two riders — only the same age as him* self — that they really should have been making some contribution to the race. Small wonder that an unlikely-looking bunch on Bmin should catch this big group of accomplished juniors. Nor were things very much better out on the marks. The easy-natured veterans of the front marks paid fulsome tribute to James Cattermole and Malvin Morgan for their full efforts and second and third placings on Sunday. But they were less generous to the winner, Alex

Fraser, for his lack of contribution to their bunch’s effort.

The senior men of the back marks, Stockwell and Chris Hogan, pull few punches in their analyses of the less-than-honest workers; and a precis of their observations if that these riders will not only ‘‘never become bikeriders” but will be found out at the top level and when the pressure is on.

That is. an accurate forecast. Recent results in the boys’ and junior championships have tended to indicate that the willing aggressor will : earn a greater return than the sit-pn sprinter. Nichois last year and Smith before him won their national boys’ titles because they attacked, and attacked, and attacked again. Mike Bosomworth, of Waikato — inferior only to Smith in 1976 — made amends last year by winning the junior title by a breakaway.

The lesson should be heeded and it would becomforting if the new juniors — Nichols, Smith, Burden principally — and those with more experience — Brunton, Flattery, Taylor, Greg Tump, Gyde — should ultimately succeed.

Perhaps the, first step would be the creation of a more honest break mark.