INTERVIEW WITH MR. GEORGE SUTHERLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 49

INTERVIEW WITH MR. GEORGE SUTHERLAND.

Mr George Sutherland, who represented New Zealand at the World's Championship meeting at Paris in August and September last, returned to the colony on Tuesday evening, having transhipped from the P. and O. liner Britannia at Melbourne, and come over j from there by the Monowai. One of our reporters, who interviewed him yesterday, found him looking very well and fit -after his trip, which he has enjoyed immensely from first to last. j Chatting on his experiences, Mr Sutherland ! said: I went direct to Paris from here. I J got to Marseilles on July 9, I think, ancl went i across to the French capital the next day. 5 Of course, my time- for training was very | short, ancl I lost no time in getting a ma- ; chine and fettling down in suitable lodgings.' \ It was about a week before I got training ' properly. Of course you know of the diffi.- ; culty that cropped up between the Interna- • ; tional Cyelifts' Association and the French , governing body, the upshot being that a n<nv : association was formed, called the Union Cy- ; clistes Internationale, and the championships" were run by them. I communicated with the* new organisation, knowing thot my only chance was to affiliate with it, having the full authority from the league to do so if necessary. I had about three weeks to get ready for the meeting, and after eight weeks on the sea you can imagine what a handicap it was. Then I had a bad spill three days before the Championship was run, so that any show I might ha^e had was considerably spoiled. In the Championship I met the finest cyclists in the world. There never was, and probably never will be again, such a representative gathering of racing men: they were champions of champions from all parts of the world. What made it most difficult for me was their style of racing, and I would have needed about six months' training amongst them, to get into their ways, instead of^j short three weeks. But, even as it was, I round my form improving wonderfully in the last few days. It was really my misfortune that I did not do better ; and i\o inexperienced man would have had any show agains}; the big giins. You know, out here I we race all the way, but they simply race ,in the last 200 yards. They crawl round the 1 track, and do anything but ride, until tha ' finish, and then they all shoot away with a marvellous jump. It was no use forcing the ; pace, foi they would only take advantage of 1 it, and then you were beaten at the finish. I j started in 12 events altogether. 1 won two ; heats, but that was all ; but lam quite satir- ; fied that if I had had 'a few months to train in I would have done pretty well. E^ery credit must be given t<? the French riders fot their sprinting, which was little short of marvellous. They were quite alone in their glory as sprinters, and nobody could touch them. The Englishmen were not nearly so good.. The German and Belgian riders were v«J! good

" What happened to Reynolds, that he Gever rode?" asked our reporter. "Well," replied Mr Sutherland, "Imever saw him after the first week or so. I suppose he had his own reasons for_ not riding. I did not see him do any training, and he was only in Paris about a week. He was not even present when the World's Championships were run. When the question of afrili ating had to be decided, I -nroto to him, but I never got any answer. I accordingly used ray own judgment in the matter. I want to contradict the statement made by him in his Auckland interview that it was necessary for antipodean cyclists to get 'in the know ' before they had any chance, and also that the events are ' cut up.' I deny that most emphatically: it is untrue. I raced with 10 of the world's best cyclists while in Paris, and I never came across a case once where the racing was ' cut up.' I would most certainly have known of it had any- such thing been going on. As Reynolds never mes any of the big guns , to my knowledge, I r cannot understand what authority ho could have" had for the statement. Neither do I think he is right when lie says professional racing is on the wane. I fail to see where it comes in. This season's racing was quite up to the last, and there is every prospect that it will be as good next year. Reynolds also saj's in the same interview that Cooper and MTarland gave me 70yds and a beating in a mile. This is totally untrue. In the' particular race Reynolds referred to B'i'Farland certainly gaA'e me 70 metres, but he never finished near me. I did not win the heat, but I was only beaten in the last 20 yards by one of the limit men, v who followed me almost all the way, and won in the record time of lmin 53 l-ssec. I was only beaten by the men behind me on one occasion — thaf was at Berlin, when Tommassili, an Italian, beat me in a half-mile race. As to the split between the governing bodies, there has been a set against professional racing in England, while the French authorities have allowed iis more latitude. I do not see any reason wiry the governing body should not have its headquarters 1- France. The men I met there are quite competent to govern the sport of the world, whether amateur or professional. I don't know what their nationalities are; but the Union Cyclistes Internationale has delegates from all parts of the world. I clo not see why my riding in Paris ehould lead to any estrangement between the New Zealand League and the English body ; but I do think that in doing so I did my duty to the N cycling bodies of the colony who sent me Home to represent them. If I had gone there and not ridden, the " boys " here would probably have wanted to know why, arfd said hard things about me, so when it came to a ' question of affiliating or not I acted to the besfc of my judgment. My action in doing bo has been ratified by the league, consequently I cannot see the force of Reynolds's remarks." " Of course, you saw the Exhibition? " " Oh, yes," replied Mr Sutherland, " I put in a good deal of time there. It was -very grand indeed. There was always something new to J>e seen. "You could get in for 2sd. I had a rattling good trip altogether, and was well treated wherever I went. From a racing point of'- View, it was an ecLucatiop. -I am -going to- ride to Christ-church in a day or two .by way of getting ready for the Christchurch .Cycling Club's sports next month. If suitable arrangements can-be-madej- I'll 'be here for the Caledonian sports at New Year, and after that it is my intention to go to Sydney for the Federal meeting. Green, the English rider, came out iit the Britannia with me, and will try his luck on Australian tracks. I had a few days in Melbourne, and saw the Derby and Cup run before leaving in the Monowai for New Zealand. We had a fine passage across."