WHEELING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 48

WHEELING

TEN-MILE CHAMPIONSHIP. SYDNEY, September 2. In the Ten Mile Track Championship of Australasia, ridden to-day, there were twenty-three starters. Only a dozen were left in at the half distance. The race resulted: —Horder, 1; J. Megson, 2; Ben Goodson, 3. Horder won by half a wheel. Time, 23min 44sec. ROAD RACE. TIMARU TO CHRISTCHURCH. A TEST OF ENDURANCE. RAIN AND MUD. The annual Dunlop road race from Timaru to Christchurch was this year no exception to the general rule as a test of the endurance of the cyclists. Rain set in on Friday morning in South Canterbury and when the cyclists appeared at the mark in Timaru on Saturday morning in a deluge of rain the roads were a sea of mud in places and elsewhere washed hard and clean. There were 276 entries, and almost all of the riders '•ame to the mark. About two thousand • spectators stood m the rain watching the enthusiasts leaving. The starter, 'Mr H. Amos, with the object of keeping the road clear, did not allow starters. Each man had to jump on his machine at the word “go.” The arrangement worked admirably, there being no blocks and no spills. The largest group to leave were the thirty minutes batch, numbering 39. They were lined up in seven ranks, and all got away without mishap. The back markers, J. Arnst, Smith, H. P. Arnst, and Henderson, who were fifty minutes behind the limit riders, left the marks at intervals of one and two minutes, and each made a dash at it, the spectators getting the impression they were having a mile sprint.

When J. Arnst reached Temuka half an hour later lie had gained nine minutes on the limit men. -At Winchester YYolf (of Wellington) trot cramp and retired, with Rule (Christchurch), Jones (Christchurch), broke his chain, as Mudgway (Levin) did at a later period. A little further on the Waihi river was overflowing the road, and two other creeks before Geraldine were expanded into stretches of water which covered the road for several chains. H. P. Arnst ran against a bridge just after leaving v\ inchester, and when Geraldine was reached he was several minutes behind his brother. , ~ . The first competitor to arrive at Geraldine was McClintock, who had started at 9.45 and put in an appearance at 11. A hundred and seventy passed through this village, the last arriving forty minutes after the first. Jack Arnst was thirty-eight minutes behind the first man, and after him came C. G. Smith and A. Irving. Ashburton was reached at 1.10 p.m., and the first man to arrive was P. M. O’Connor (Cricklewood), who eventually won the race. H. Henderson (Palmerston North) arrived three-quarters of an hour later, and Jack Arnst, to whom a great deal of faith was pinned, was fifty-seven minutes behind the first arrival. C, G. Smith had gained five minutes on Jack Arnst, and H. P. Arnst was three minutes behind. The Hinds river, which had been a bugbear all along, was found to be fairly low, but the swollen races caused the riders a good deal of inconvenience. Head (Greenpark) collapsed at Ashburton, but recovered an hour later. . . . Pushing on in the pouring rain, the flight made for Dumsandel. J. Arnst, the scratch man, had been retarded greatly by his small tyres sinking m the mud. At the Rakaia, however, his tyre burst, and he had to give up. (rConnor was the first man to show up at Dunsandel, which is twenty-six miles from Christchurch. He was rather travelstained, but looking remarkably fresh, and going at a sound pace. There was an interval of fifteen, minutes between him and his nearest follower, Carr, who was closely attended by something fresher in the shape of Hunn. Then came C. G. Smith, Parker, and Bell. Stevens came five minutes later, but was finished With such a short distance to go the riders had the strength of the position, and many fell out. Thirty-one riders passed through Dunsandel between three and four o’clock. All had had to walk the railway bridge over the Selwyn. as the river was showing a fresh and some colour. Presently the express from Dunedin came along, and the begrimed cyclists had shouts of encouragement thrown at them from their more comfortable rivals who had fallen out earlier and taken train to the winning post. . _ Plugging along wiCh something in hand, O’Connor pedalled in comfortably along the Riccarton road, arriving at the winning post, 112 miles from 'Timaru at 4.47 p.m. Twenty-four others followed him in slow procession, J. Arnst concluding the race at 6.30 p.m.

Following are the detailed results: P M. O’Connor (Cricklewood), 45min, 1 (fastest time, 6hr 57min); A. Hunn (Spreydcn), 35min, 2 (3rd fastest time, 7hr 12min 9sec); F. H. Bell (Fairlie), 42mm, 3 (sth fastest time, 7hr 76min lsec); G. Smith (Riccarton), 50min, 4 (7hr 40mm 13sec); G. N. Langford (Temuka), 42mm, 5 (7th fastest, 7hr 34min lSsec); O. Neilson (Dannevirke), 23min. 6 (4th fastest, 7hr 17min 18sec); C. H. Butterfield (St. Albans), 50min, 7 (7hr 49min 56sec); H. Lloyd (Wanganui), 23min, 8 (6th fastest. 7hr 24min 25sec); H. Henderson (Palmerston North), smin 9 (2nd fastest, 7hr 7min 51sec); P. Watson (Papanui), 50min, 10 (7hr 45min 51©ec); W. Walsh (Papanui), 30sec, 11 (7hr 35min 14sec). The other competitors from this district were: —G. Bradley (Lower Hutt), 17min; H. W. Mudgway (Levin), 17min; M. S. Brunette (Wanganui), 20min; J. N. Anderson (Wanganui), 23min; H. Wolf (Wellington). 23min; T. W. Jones (Pahiatua), 30nlin; J. T M. Quinton (Palmerston North), 35min; B. Henderson (Palmerston North), 42min. The prizes amount to <£loo in value. They include a piano, a gold medal, Royal Swift bicycle, and cheque for <£2o. H. Henderson, of Palmerston North, who was ninth, but put up the second fastest time, receives a special prize. The following riders, having put up the six fastest times, will represent New Zealand in the Goulburn-Sydney and aWrrr-nambool-Melbourne road races: —O’Connor, Henderson, Hunn, Neilson, Bell and Lloyd. The competitors were entertained in the evening at a smoke concert at the Canterbury Hall. The Mayor of Christchurch presided, and Sir Joseph Ward was amongst those present.