Miller produces second best result by a N.Z. cyclist

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 31

Miller produces second best result by a N.Z. cyclist

By

CHRIS MIRAMS

of NZPA in Seoul

Auckland’s Graeme Miller went on to produce one of the best Olympic bike rides by a New Zealander in yesterday’s men’s road race. Miller’s eighth placing in the field of 143 was the second best result achieved by a New Zealand cyclist. But for a brief attention lapse when a spoke broke in his front wheel with four of the 196.8 kilometres remaining, the gritty New Zealander was in line for a medal. The flat, 12-lap course made for a thrilling race only decided in a sprint 150 metres from the finish. In an all-German finish Olaf Ludwig, of East Germany, outfinished Bernd Groene and Christain Henn, both of the Federal Republic, to win in 4:32.22. Miller played a full part in the tense final three laps. He was prominent in the breakaway group of eight riders that distanced themselves from the main bunch to decide the

medals. But as he quickly glanced down to assess any damage when he heard the spoke break, Ludwig and Groene launched an attack and any possibility of a medal slipped from Miller’s grasp. “I had 12 goes at breaks over the last three laps,” Miller said afterwards. “The two Germans went for the attack, I got up to go with them but the spoke broke. I hesitated for a split second to have a look because it started to wobble on the brake and they were gone. “I am not blaming the spoke, but I hesitated and the moment was gone. “Probably I have only broken maybe six spokes in my whole life, one just had to be on the day of the Olympics. They were brand new wheels but, I don’t know ...” Miller eventually finished in the body of the pack as it crossed the line 20s after the two Germans had finished. No New Zealand cyclist has ever won an Olympic medal. Miller’s effort ranks only behind Bruce Biddle’s fourth in the 1972 Games and ahead of the

tenth by Lorrie Byers in Tokyo in 1964. Miller’s task was never going to be easy and was made more difficult when New Zealand’s Wayne Morgan was brought down and had to endure a disastrous encounter with the service crew on the second lap. Miller joined the breakaway group during the tenth lap and was greeted with abuse from the Germans and the Polish rider, Jacek Bodyk, and later copped a verbal tirade from the Australian, Ed Salas. “I was having trouble,” Miller explained. “After the two stage wins in the Milk Race the Russians, Czechs and the Poles weren’t too keen on giving me a good ride. “In that group at the front, I don’t know what they were saying but I would guess it was ‘get to the front.’ “The Aussie just didn’t seem to think I should have been there,” he said. “It was just Kiwi bashing.” Morgan crashed after the rider immediately in front of him over-braked going into a corner. Eight riders came down

and when Morgan picked up his bike his front tyre had came off the wheel rim. “The support bunch of Koreans just didn’t know what to do,” a frustrated Morgan said. “The front guy just casually walked up and said ‘what’s wrong?’ “For a mechanic to say that is absolutely hopeless. Even my chain was off. He finally realised but had to walk back to his truck and. get a tyre and walk back and put it on.” The truck was 100 m away. When Morgan finally got back on the road the quality of the wheel was so poor that within one lap the New Zealander was reduced to barely a walking pace. He then had to endure the embarrassment of guiding his bike past the full grandstand, precariously balanced, while the replacement wheel swung wildly from side to . side.

When he arrived at the hutch it was examined by a mechanic, Peter Coding, who said the spokes had not been tightened and as a consequence had been crushed out of alignment.

A representative of the Italian cycle manufacturer, Campagnola, was totally dumbfounded when he saw it and when team the manager, Gordon Sharrock, took it to the race jury to complain, one of its members described it “as a piece of garbage.” Mr Sharrock had complained to the race manager before the start following an almost identical ordeal for Madonna Harris in Monday’s women’s race but he declined a suggestion to place four mechanics from the competing countries in the two service vehicles. > The jury also did not order either of the trucks in for a change of equipment when Mr Sharrock showed it Morgan’s wheel. .“I have put so much money, have lived overseas to get the competition and have raced in fields just as big as this one and have never come across anything like this,” Morgan said. Brian Fowler was the other New Zealander in the race and he finished seventh-fifth after miscalculating the number of laps with three to go.