CYCLING NOTES

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18772, 30 May 1929, Page 14

CYCLING NOTES

ON TRACK AND ROAD. §

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“WHEEL."

FIXTURES. June I—Mairehau Sports Club’s Road Race. June B—Christchurch Cycling Club’s Road Race. a a The Clarkeville Cycling Club held a most successful road race last Saturday afternoon, when twenty-six cash riders contested an eleven miles race. The roads were not in the best of order for racing owing to patches of loose metal, the consequence being several spills. /, a a :: J. H. Silvester, A. C. Ritchie, S. A. Jordan and J. W. Jordan were on scratch, with W. T. Weir, A. A. Mor\yood and L. Pither on 45sec. The limit was 3Jmin, bunches of riders leaving at half-minute intervals. 5*2 2*2 5*2 About fifteen minutes after the limit i e ft> Jones (3imin), 11. Briggs (2fmin) S. Holland (22min), W. L. White (2$ min) and Oakey (3imin) passed going strongly. Thirteen seconds later, W. W. Crofts (lfmin), .M’Nicholl (llmin), -Vf- Briggs (lfmin), and Hazeldine (22 min) followed. Parsons (2imin) was the next to pass, 29 seconds behind, and about half a minute later H. Crofts (limin), L. Pither (45sec), Sowden (Hmin) and Dawson (Umin) passed, followed lmin 4sec later by two scratch men, Ritchie and S. A. Jordan. The other two scratch men, J. W. Jordan and Silvester, fell. A puncture in the first round was the cause of Morwood’s retirement. 55 52 From the position of the riders at the commencement of the last round it was seen that the finish would be close. Five riders fought out a tight finish, the well-known track rider, J. 11. M’Nicholl, winning from W. L. White, with G. W. Hazeldine third and S. Holland, of Clarkeville, fourth. L. Pither, the first of the back-markers, finished seven seconds behind the winner, and the first scratch man to finish, S. A. Jordan, was lmin 14sec behind Pither. The winner’s time was 29min 4s£c and the fastest time, registered by Pither, 28min 6sec. J. H. M’Nicholl, the winner, has been performing consistently this season and on several occasions has finished well up. He rides a good race, with a splendid finishing effort. M’Nicholl is improving with every appearance and should figure prominently in future road races. 2*2 2*2 2*2 W. L. White, second place, registered his best performance on the road this season. Riding from the two and a quarter minute mark, White made full use of his handicap and was unlucky to meet a rider of the calibre of M’Nicholl in the final sorint. 2*2 2*2 2*2 G. W. Hazeldine, in finishing third has made a good “come back.” Last season he did not race at all and the previous season he competed in running races. 5*2 52 52 L- Pither has been riding very indifferently lately. His performance on Saturday was a good one and stamps him as one who will have to be considered in the coming road championships. 52 5*2 52 The first three placed men in the race were all ex-amateur riders. The Clarkeville Club again demonstrated its hospitality by providing afternoon tea for the riders. The Mairehau Sports Club will hold an open road race over a twenty-mile -course at Mairehau on Saturday next, starting at 2.30 p.m. The following prize money is offered: First, £2; second, £1; third, 10s; fastest time, 10s. Entries for the race will be received by the secretary, Mr J. H. Parsons, or may be given to Mr P. C. Lucas.

The Christchurch Cycling and Athletic Club held a most successful run during the week-end to the Ashley bridge. A large number of racing cyclists took part in the run, and, in addition, there were several car loads of ladies. A programme of novelty events was carried out, and resulted as follows:—Slow race, A. A. Morwood 1. L. M. Sibley 2; novelty event, A. A. Morwood 1, S. Oakey 2; riding the line, W. T. Weir 1, S. A. Jordan 2; running and riding, L. E. Porter 1, J. W. Jordan 2; speed test, W. T. Weir 1, J. W. Jordan 2.

52 52 5*2 The “Armstrong” Challenge Cup, at

present held by N. J. Muir, is again being competed for. The cup is held by the rider gaining most points in open road races in the North Canterbury district. At the present time there are several who have a claim on the cup. The “Armstrong” Com pany each year gives a medal to the winner of the cup. The points for the last five races are as follows: J. H. M’Nicholl 4, M. Briggs, W. L. Whf H. Crofts, F. Dawson, J. R. Roberts..... A. C. Walker 3 each, S. A. Jordan, C. H. Watson, E. A. M’Kaskell 2 each, T. Richards, G. W. Hazeldine 1 each. The points count as follows: First, 3 points : second, 2 points; third, 1 point.

The Papanui Amateur Sports Club continued its series of road races last Saturday afternoon when a fifteen miles race was held. Thirty-one riders started. Loose shingle was the cause of a number of spills. When half the distance had be«?n covered the field resolved into two bunches, about sixteen riders being in the lead, with about a dozen riders in the rear. The front men gained ground on the back bunch, which included F. J. Grose and T. O’Brien, who rode off the scratch mark. R. J. Richards (70sec) made a fast run to pick up the leaders half way through the race and finally finished up in third place, gaining fastest time, beating O’Brieji’s time by lOsec. The race was won by W. H. Roberts (2min), M. Gregory (2min) being second, and R. W. Richards (70sec) third. The winner’s time was 43min Bsec, and the fastest time registered by Richards, 42min 29sec. 52 52 52 W. 11. Roberts, the winner, is a good handicap rider, having met with success earlier in the season. He showed that he is a capable sprinter, winning in a close finish from three other riders. 52 52 52 Frank Grose, the well-known amateur rider, had the misfortune to fall and break his collarbone at Rangiora whilst out training last Sunday. His accident will keep him out of action for some time. No amateur fixtures are arranged for next week. The Papanui Club will probably hold a road race on Saturday week, but up to the time of writing no definite announcement had been made. The annual meeting of the Papanui Sports Club will be held shortly, _ when a programme of road races will be drawn up. 5*2 52 52 At an executive meeting of the North Canterbury* Centre* of the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union last night, it was decided to recommend to the centre that the Timaru to Christchurch road race should be held as usual. The suggested date for the event is Saturday, October 5. A dance to augment the funds will be held under the management of Mr R. Stillwell.

ROAD RACING.

OPPERMAN GIVES ADVICE. Hubert Opperman, the famous cyclist, who captained the Australian Tour de France team last year, in the course of his brilliant career, has gained valuable experience, and, with a desire to stimulate interest in road cycling and to awaken enthusiasm among young wheelmen, he is anxious to “pass on” some timely hints now that the road season has opened. At the outset of these articles, let me say how much I appreciate my great responsibility, since I have to a very large extent been placed in the position of adviser to young cyclists. Perhaps there is no subject in any sport which brings forth more arguments or statements than training. Various champions have their own ideas and methods which, proved by their own successes, are correct as far as they are concerned. But it is only after years of careful study and experimenting that they have come to their conclusions. The fact that they have climbed to the top of the tree does not mean that they have never made mistakes. Some days they have been “stale” and weary from over-training; on others they

have been found wanting through slackening off too much. Experience teaches. Everyone must tread that hard road to a certain extent, and in many cases it is all for the best. But experience can be gained at too great a cost, and the future of the young cyclist may be finished before it is begun, through training and racing on the wrong methodfe. An awakening comes sooner or later, but the damage is done. Fortunate Advice.

Looking back over my own cycling experience, I always consider how fortunate I was in my early cycling associations. Harry Thomas (the former Austral winner) first placed a position on my bicycle which I would n6ver have adopted myself, although it was correct; whilst later on Don Kirkham, with his years of racing behind him, including French experience, put me a long way ahead of other lads in knowledge of gear positions and diet, and gave me dozens of helpful hints which only bitter experience could have taught me.

I can easily see now how many pitfalls I avoided through their help, and I feel that whatever I can do to aid the young cyclist of to-day in the same manner—well, it is up to me to carry

Doubtless some statements I make will be open to discussion. I know myself that ideas which I had before visiting France are now entirely changed. Whilst on this point let me say, always be ready to listen to advice, but do not blindly follow it. Always think first. Select a Good Mount.

The first essential is a good bicycle. It is imperative that the rider’s machine is one in which he has the utmost confidence. He must feel sure that his mount will take the wild “swoop” down the steep hills, fling itself over the rough roads, and stand up to the hundreds of miles which are covered in a season.

Then, again, for correct position a bicycle must be built to suit its owner, otherwise no matter how sturdy the frame, how easy runnings the bearings, the machine is “bad” for that particular lad. Position is “Comfort.”

Position must be summed up with the one word, “Comfort.” That is the essential thing. I am speaking, of course, of a road position. Any onlooker can see that the usual low down position of the track cyclist is a strained one, and for this reason useless on the road.

Before leaving for France I myself rode and advised a position directly over the bracket and a fairly high seat, which meant that the toes were pointed earthwards with the crank at its lowest. However, we found on arrival in France that we were entirely out of order, and they expressed amazement there that we had ridden in Australian races in this fashion.

I might say that the habits of years are hard to change; but we adopted the French positions. These were: Saddle behind the bracket and placed so low that it was possible to pedal with the instep. The distance behind the bracket varied according to the size of the riders.

Big men, such as Frantz, Van de Casteele and Ronsse, rode as far back as 31 to 4 inches; but others varied from 2 to 3. This produced a flat-foot-ed pedalling which, although not nearly so pretty to look at, is more effective, as it practically does away with all the “pull up” when climbing. Many of the Belgian riders actually did not use “blocks” on their shoes, and had their pedal plates filed flat, yet on no -occasion did I see one of them pull his feet out when climbing. This was always a. source of amazement to us, who, following Australian custom, used blocks.

The seat behind the bracket produces a comfortable position, and the rider will find it possible to sit up on top of the handle-bars in a fast-pedalling ride without losing speed. This is all for the better, too, as the chest is freer, and the lungs have more breathing space, which is naturally a benefit. In hill-climbing also I have noticed foreign riders who never touched the bends of their handle-bars, but rode with hands on the top, only bending down for the descents when the brake had to be operated. The shape of a saddle is a matter which should be studied very carefully indeed. In Australia the tendency has always been to ride the narrowest seat possible, even for long distance events. Often I have noticed riders setting out on a Warrnambool to Melbourne, and actually commencing the Grand Prix, on a saddle which even a track cyclist would hesitate to have on his machine. Imagine the road shocks which can be avoided by using a saddle with a good wide back. The riders of Europe invariably use an unbent saddle for all road races, and in anything like a long distance track event they favour a more comfortable seat than is universally adopted here. Maybe at first the wider shape will prove a trifle awkward, but, after a rider has adapted himself to it, I am confident that he will never return to the other type. At the present time I am testing an English production, which is constructed with a rubber pad of much the same material as a wellknown make of grips. However, hundreds of miles must be covered before I can give an opinion as to whether this new idea will prove a success.