Medal triumph of teamwork

Press, 11 October 1982, Page 23

Medal triumph of teamwork

From

RAY CAIRNS

in Brisbane

Although the bronze medal won by Roger Sumich in the 183 km road cycling race at Mount Petrie on Saturday migh sound like an old familiar story, the race and the result were, in fact, triumphs for a full team effort.

New Zealand has a long and rich history of minor medals in the road race. From 1934 until and including 1966, it won the bronze medal each time, with the exception of 1958, and there were the odd silvers thrown in for good measure. Bruce Biddle made the gold breakthrough in 1970, and for the long, slow final lap, of the 13 raced on Saturday, it seemed that another Aucklander would succeed him. For Sumich certainly appeared the friskiest, and the most confident of the five left to contest the medals. The others were Malcolm Elliott, the Englishman who was to win the gold; the Canadian, Steve Bauer, who took the silver from Sumich, another Englishman in its national champion, Steve Lawrence, and a most gallant Welshman with the hill climbing ability of a moun-

tain goat in Russell Hai ring ton.

They were the quintet who sorted themselves out in the sticky heat and blustery winds after 145 km on this late Saturday morning, and Harrington deservedly won most of the plaudits.

First, though, the decisive break was established at 120 km, for at that point, the five who eventually finished clear got settled in the lead with two other New Zealanders, Steve Cox, and Blair Stockwell, a Scotsman, James McGahan, and a sole Australian, Ricky Flood.

By 130 km, this group of nine, was a minute clear from the pursuing 14, and New Zealanders clearly held the whip-hand. On the one hand, there were the three in the break ensuring it got clear, as they had to, but it did mean that those countries scantily represented — Canada’s Bauer, Scotland’s McGahan most prominently — “were getting a perfect sit,” as Sumich phrased it later. And back in the main bunch, there was the big figure of Jack Swart at the front, not trying to bring

back, his team-mates, just plodding along at the head so there was no concerted chase. His was an effort as proud as any. Then Harrington struck out on his own, and by the 145 km mark, he held a lead of nearly 1 '/a minutes, and at

that point, four of the eight following dropped from the pace; Stockwell and Cox were two of them — job done for Sumich.

Then, slowly, Harrington was pegged back — the lead was cut more savagely in the penultimate lap — and the brave Welshman was caught with a lap to ride. Then the fun started, for the lead was uncatchable. Cox was nearly 3min behind, Stockwell and Flood at a minute and the main field was 4min 49s in arrears of Elliott, Bauer, Sumich, Lawrence and Harrington.

Lawrence had a minor attack at 170 km, and with two

Englishmen there, one of them had to show some initiaitive, but Sumich cruised up to the wheel. Then Elliott tried, and Sumich was there again in an instant. Bauer moved, and Sumich was there again. It certainly looked his day, for when Sumich is as lively and alert as this, something worthy is heralded.

But in his view, Sumich did the sprint finish all wrong: “I always meant to take the intiative and lead out, and I had picked my gears: a 16-tooth sprocket if it was slow, 15 if it was fast.

"The pace sped up, and I decided it would have to be the 54 x 15 — a 97in gear, but the Canadian suddenly braked, and there I was, forced to the front. I had to go, and all I did was give a perfect lead to the English boy.

"One more of our team there and we would have wvori it,” said Sumich. "The way it went, one of the strong fellows — Coxy or Stocky — would have got it, because there was no way I was going to try and ride

away. I was in great shape, and while there might have been better bike-riders in the field than those up the road, surely all credit to us. After all, the right people got the medals, just in the wrong order.”

Even with the sprint messed around for Sumich as it was, it was a strange finish. The breeze was at their backs on the finishing straight, but it became one of those hard, slogging sprints and Elliott was freewheeling with his arms aloft when he crossed the line comfortably clear of Bauer and Sumich, the latter even threatened a shade by Lawrence. And back in the bunch, Swart said later: "We were having bets on who would win.” The favouritism was on the three who took the medals. It was just that the order changed from nationality to nationality.

Once again, too, it was a back-down-the-road performance for Cox and Stockwell after doing a job for a teammate, just as they did for Gary Bell at Edmonton.