NELSON RIDER WINS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 26 October 1937, Page 3

NELSON RIDER WINS.

BIG CYCLE RACE. BECOMES CHAMPION (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 23. Leading the field from t;."C summit o the Paekakariki Hill, M. Graham, :

17-y T ear-old Nelson rider i" - 10 had 32 minutes’ start from the scratch men but who was conceding handicaps up to 58 minutes, won the annual 100mile Palmerston North to Wellington cycle race to-day with ten minutes to spare. The fastest rider was J. Biown, Auckland, who thus became the 100j n il e amateur North Island road champion for the season. Brown was one of the six men. on scratch and finished fifteenth. His time was 4.38. 17 2-5. Nelson riders did well, filling first and second places and winning the team’s trophy. The winner has been riding in road races only two seasons, and to-day’s race was the first in which he met competition outside his own club, Nelson. He was not specially prominent ,in club races, however, until about four weeks ago when he won the Nelson 50-mile championship in the good time of 2.13. !

Burn, the rider second to finish this year, was second also last year, when the race was won by Sinclair, who finished 33rd this time. Brown, who was fastest, has been doing well in Empire Games trials and other eventa. His time on Saturday was only 1.17 2-5 longer than the record for the race set up by F. Grose in 1935. Grose did not enter this year. Progress Described. Throughout the course the weather was warm and sunny. The riders had a light breeze in their faces between Himatangi and Paekakariki, but thereafter it was an assistance. The first to drop out of the race was E. Leach (Woodville,) one of the 32min men, and C. V. Aldridge (Wellington), 40 min, who had trouble with their machines between Himatangi and Foxton. At Foxton half the 18min bunch started to take the short cut past the town, but were brought back to the course through the main street by an official, and, their fellow-markers slowing down, they all continued as one bunch again. J. Herman, Palmerston North) was out of the race south of Foxton, and J. Burn (Nelson) fell- out near the Manawatu bridge. Gravel Causes Spill.

Half a mile on the Palmerston North side of the Whirokino bridge the scratch bunch had a serious mishap in the gravel. G. Amey (Wellington) fell, and R. Triner (Auckland), J. Brown (Auckland), and I. J. Taylor (Christchurch) fell on him. Triner and Brown remounted, and caught E. L. G. Hughes (Auckland), and R. Dutton (Wellington), the only two in the scratch bunch not involved in the accident. Amey was left to ride alone, but later withdrew. Taylor was prevented by a damaged wheel from continuing. The stretch of gravel caused several accidents. While near the front of the field on the paved road south of Levin, Clark, Hurd and Huxfield were involved in an accident, and Clark (Wellington) was unnablc to continue because of damage to his machine.

The first rider to arrive at Otaki, halfway to Wellington, was F. J. Couper, 40min, the limit man having been overtaken some distance back by a third of the held. Couper was the leader of a bunch of about ten riders, including Graham, from the 35min. and 32 min marks, accompanied by Parkes, Sutton and Knowles, who had come up from SOmin. They passed Otaki at 12.20 p.m. ___ First Up the Hill. By the time the field was south of Paraparaumu the bunch of medium and long markers that had been foiruing at Otaki had grown to about twenty. A mile ahead of them was Cook, and then at shorter intervals toward the front, Walker, Price, Cooper, Beswarick, R. Evans, Sutton and in the lead now, Graham. At the foot of the Paekakariki hill Walker was in front,, and then came Sutton, Beswarick, R. Evans, Graham, Cooper and Knowles. Walker set off up the hill at „ a smart pace, but was walking before he got to the top and had been overtaken.

The hill had the effect of stringing the field out evenly. Graham was first to the top at L 35, followed closely by Hurd, and then at short intervals R. Evans, Parkes, Knowles, Lamberton, Hawke, Young and Delaney. The scratch riders went over the summit at 1.50. Most of the cyclists rode , up. Triner, who made fastest time in this race last year, was dropped by the other scratch men when they rode nearing the summit. He rode on, but did not cross ‘the finishing line. Graham was going well a couple of miles out in front by the time the race

approached Glenside and for some time . he liad appeared likely to win. ■ The ♦rest of the field was led by Parkes and Knowles, with Goey, Sutton and Hawke close behind. R. Evans and Hurd were further back, and then chme Burn, Allen and Young. Descending the KVahauranga Gorge Hurd and Lamberton fell, the latter being taken to hospital with a broken collarbone. Graham was still the leader at Ngahauranga and along the Hutt Road. He entered the Petone Oval and cycled round the track to the finishing .line at 3 o’clock, 10 minutes ahead of Burn, who was second. Knowles beat R. Evans for sixth place after they had entered ■ the ground. The first scratch man to finish was Brown, who filled fifteenth pia,ce, the last for which there was a trophy.

The last past the post was the veteran Young. He finished quite fresh and his time was actually less than that of the fastest rider of 1926, when the race was first held. Road surfaces have improved greatly since then, however. Results in Detail. Results in detail are as follows, the riders’ actual times being given;— M. Graham (Nelson), 32min, 5.1.304 1 J. Burn (Nelson), 22min. 4.51.47 2 H. F. Hawke (Auckland), 22 min. 4.51.48 3 A. H. Allan (Feilding), 2min, 4.53.21, 4; G. Sutton (Gisborne), 30min, 5.2.19, 5; G. Knowles (Wellington), 30min, 5.3.4., 6; R. Evans (Wellington), 32min, 5.5.8, 7 • F. Olsen (Nelson), 28min, 5.1.10 8; W. Young (Napier), 24min, 4.59.34, 9; E. Robinson (Wellington), 28min, 5.4.14 2-5, 10.

I. Danielson (Wanganui), ISmin, 4.54 14 3-5, 11; D. Evans (Wellington), 22 min, 4.58.26, 12; W. Goey (Wellington), 85 min, 5.12.45, 13; F. Edwards (Nelson), 24 min, 5.1.55, 14; J. Brown (Auckland), ser., 4.38.17 2-5, 15; F. Delaney (Nelson), 22min, 5.0.31, 16; V. Evans (Wellington), 26min, 5.5.8, 17; A. F. Patterson (Palmerston North), 28min, 5.8.24, IS; W. R. Walker (Auckland), 26min, 5.6.50, 19; E. Dutton (Wellington), ser., 4.41.16, 20. N. Scrimgeour (Wellington), 26min, 5.9.31, 21; P. Parkes (Nelson), 30min, 5.14,16,22.; W. Crocker (Auckland), 24 min, 5.8.19, 23; H. Moss (Marton), 24 min, 5.8.19 1-5, 24; G. Spiney (Napier), 28min, 5.12.19 2-5, 25; W. Glennie (Blenheim), 18min, 5.2.19 3-5, 26; A. T. Walker (Woodville), 32min, 5.16.37, 27; A. Cook (Petone), 32min, 5.17.31, 28;'E L. G. Hughes (Auckland), scr., 4.47.3 2-5, 29; P. Johnston (Wellington), 28 min, 5.17.55, 30.

R. Price (Nelson), 26min, 5.15.55 2-5, 31; N. McLeod (Wellington), 26min, 5.15.58, 32; W. Sinclair (Wellington). Smin, 4.58.48, 33; J. Johnson (Wanganui), 28min, 5.1 5.49, 34; A. Huxford (Wellington), ISmin, 5.8.52, 35; J. A. Hunt (Napier), 26min, 5.17.35 2-5, 36; I. J. Taylor (Christchurch), scr., 4.53.37 2-5, 37; O. Disley (Wellington), Smin, 5.1.37 3-5, 38; F. Blackett (Wellington) 24niin, 5.20.53, 39; W. Dearsley (Wanganui), 22min, 5.18.53, 40. A. Jelly (Wellington), 35rain, 5.32.11. 41; J. F. Couper (Wellington), 40min, 5.41.13, 42; C. H. Picknell (Auckland). ISmin, 5.23.4, 43; G. R. Stewart (New Plymouth, ISmin, 5.23.4 1-5, 44; R. King (Wanganui), 2Smin, 5.46.30, 45; ■T. iYoung (Levin), 60min, 6.23.6, 46. Fastest times: J. Brown (scr), 4.38 17 21; R. Dutton (scr), 4.41.16, 2; L. L. G. Hughes (scr), 4.47.3 2-5, 3; J. Burn (22min), 4.51.47, 4; H. F. Hawke, 22 min, 4.51.48, 5; A. H. Allen (22min), 4.53.21, 6; I. J. Taylor (scr), 4.53.37, 7; I. Danielson (ISmin), 4.54.14 3- S.

Special Prizes: Oldest rider, W. Young, 59 years; youngest rider, W. Goey, 15 years 9 months; fastest Wellington rider, R. Dutton; fastest Petone rider, A. Cooke; first Poneke rider, R. Evans; first Poneke rider at top of Paekakariki hill, R. Evans; first Port Nicholson rider, G. Knowles; first Manawatu rider, A. H. Allen; fastest 10-20 min. handicap rider. X Danielson; fastest 20min and over handicap rider, X Burn; Port Nicholson Shield, Nelson Club; tobacconists ’ shield, Poneke Club.