The TE
R A N RA C
Veteran
E
IN
E OF V
GC YCLI
Leaguer
U
AG
S
TS
LE
The official newsletter of the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists
Volume 09 No 03 Autumn 2000
Objective of the LVRC
The provision of a programme of competitive and social cycling events for male and female
members of 40 years of age and over
Regional Officials
N.W.
REGION 1. N.W. ENGLAND
CHAIRMAN Dennis Agnew 44 Commonside, Ansdell, Lytham, Lancashire, FY8 4EX 01253-739 428
REGISTRAR Ray Groves 2 Locks View, Ince, Wigan, Lancashire, FY7 7AH 01942-495 214
SECRETARY, CONTACT & TREASURER Wally Hodge 43 Wyre Avenue, Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 2YE 01772-682 531
EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Stokes
Jack Stokes 2 Orchard Close, Tag Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 3TG 01772-768 234
NEWSLETTER CORRESPONDENT Harry Benson ‘Fylde Cottage’, 1 Havenlyn Park, Cabus, Preston, PR3 1AB 01524-791 604
NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTOR Dave Edge 123 Carhead Lane, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, FY6 8EG 01253-890 852
QUARTERMASTER Keith Wright 29 Church Street, Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 2SE
Wright 01772-499 213
REGION 2 N.E .ENGLAND and YORKSHIRE
2. N.E.ENGLAND YORKSHIRE
SEC, N/L CORRESPONDENT & QM Alan Edmondson ’Seven Oaks’, Newlay Wood Ave, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4LN 0113-258-7194
REGISTRAR John Lawton 21 Nursery Lane, Leeds, LS17 7ED 0113-295-6916
TREASURER Vera Simpson 22 Hill Estate, Upton, Pontefract, WF9 1HT 01977-649205
EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Derek Smith 15 Moor Grange View, West Park, Leeds, LS16 5BN. 0113 -275-9733
NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTOR Derek Smith 4 Ashfield Drive, Ovenden, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX3 5P 01422-258 839
WALES
REGION 3 NORTH WALES and MERSEYSIDE
CONTACT,TREASURER & REGISTRAR Geoff Brandt 29 Templemore Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, Merseyside,L43 2HB 0151-652-0217
EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Keith Boardman 19 Clydesdale Road, Hoylake, Wirral, L47 3RP 0151-632-3185
NEWSLETTER CORRESPONDENT Lang
Richard Lang,The Lodge,Cerrigilwydion Hall,Llandyrnog, Nr Denbigh, LL16 4LE 01824-790398
NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTOR Eddie Hayes 45 Leominster Road, Wallasey, Merseyside, L44 5UT 0151-691-1458
STAFFORDSHIRE
REGION 4 MANCHESTER and NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE
CONTACT Nev Ashman 77 Hulme Hall Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, SK8 6JZ 01614-857969
REGISTRAR Mel Haigh 25 Underwood Close, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 3QD 01625-426052
TREASURER John Carter 41 Holthouse Road, Tottington, Bury, BL8 3JP 01204-88635
EVENT CO-ORD & N/L CORR Watson
Dave Watson 207 Manchester Rd. Greenfield, Oldham, OL3 7HX 01457-837113
NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTOR Les Bailey 51 Romans St., Northwich, Cheshire,CW8 1DE 01606-781760
REGION 5. EAST and NORTH MIDLANDS
CHAIRMAN & N/L DISTRIBUTOR John Downing 33 Doncaster Road, Costhorpe, Worksop, Notts, S81 9QY 01909-732764
REGISTRAR Jenny Downing 33 Doncaster Road, Costhorpe, Worksop, Notts, S81 9QY 01909-732764
SECRETARY, EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Colin Abdy 10 Foredale, Barton on Humber, South Humberside, DN18 5NE 01652-633656
TREASURER John Flear,14a Water Lane, North Hykesham,Lincoln, Lincs.,LN6 9QS
Flear 01159-636449
QUARTERMASTER Hearsum,
Roger Hearsum Manor Farm, 6 Front Lane, Treeton, Rotherham, Yorks, S60 5QP 01742-694868
NEWSLETTER CORRESPONDENT Forster,
Rod Forster Walnut House, Waithe, Brigsley, Grimsby, S.Humberside, DN37 0RJ01472-823368
01472-823368
6. WALES
REGION 6 MID WALES and WEST MIDLANDS
CONTACT, EVENTS & QM Les Archer 14 Broadfield Close, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY8 9DY 01384-273109
REGISTRAR and TREASURER Colin Willetts 201 Mildenhall Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, B42 2PE 0121-358-6768
N/L CORRESPONDENT & DISTRIB Colin Dooley 62 Gillhurst Road, Harbourne, Birmingham, B17 8PB3 0121-427-2149
7. .E.MIDLANDS
REGION 7 S.E .MIDLANDS and EAST ANGLIA
CONTACT Ron Day 11 Kingsbridge, Furzton, Milton Keys, Bucks, MK4 1EH
Day, 01908-501461
REGISTRAR Richard Abbott 124 Oxford Crescent, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 7AX 01235-210178
TREASURER & EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Mike
Mike Burns 14 Briars Close, Long Lawford, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9DW 01788-567637
N/L CORRESPONDENT & DISTRIB George Bridge 30 Wilby Park, Wellingborough, Northants, NN8 2UL 01933-271234
REGION 8: S.WALES and WESTERN
S.W
.WALES ENGLAND
CONTACT Chas Bland Poplars, Hillside, Long Ashton, Bristol, Avon, BS18 9LG 01275 393 696
SECRETARY Austin Heath, Melrose, 12 Heol Morlais, Llannon, Dyfed SA14 6BD 01269 832 975
TREASURER Kevin Green, 107 Cherington, Yate, South Glos BS37 8UT 01454-881486
REGISTRAR, N/L CORR & DISTRIB Wilson,
Ralph Wilson 42 Bradstone Road, Winterbourne, South Glos 01454-776062
EVENT CO-ORD & QM Terry Wilkins 71 Fflorens Road, Treowen, Newport, NP1 4DW 01495 244 866
LONDON S.
REGION 9: LONDON and S. EAST ENGLAND
CHAIRMAN Tollady
Ian Tollady 9 Rosecroft Avenue, Hampstead, London, NW3 7QA 020-77943410
SECRETARY and CONTACT Friend
Dave Friend Berden Hall Farmhouse, Berden, Hertfordshire, CM23 1AY 01279-777 285
REGISTRAR Bill Ollis 157 Cedar Road, Strood, Kent, ME2 2JR
ill 01634-721 502
TREASURER Peter Wilson 52 Knoll Drive, Southgate, London, N14 5NE 020-83680698
EVENT CO-ORDINATOR & QM Fred Little 45 Hillhouse Close, Billericay, Essex, CM12 0BB 01277-658 807
NEWSLETTER DISTRIB & CORR. John Scott 39 Montrouge Crescent, Epsom Downs, Surrey, KT17 3PB 01737-352 025
REGION 10: SOUTH WEST ENGLAND
CONTACT, EVENT CO-ORDINATOR. Marshmam,
John Marshmam 12 Grange Road, Broadstone, Dorset, BH18 8LA 01202-693417
REGISTRAR & N/L DISTRIB O’Donnell
Tim O ’Donnell 24 Maidment Close, Barwood, Bourmouth Dorset, BH11 8PE 01202-388505
TREASURER Paul Woodburn 10 Willowdale Close, Stroud, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3PS
Woodburn 01730-265061
NEWSLETTER CORRESPONDENT Trevor Fenwick 50 Methuen Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 8DN 01202-299249
SCOTLAND
REGION 11: SCOTLAND
CHAIRMAN en MacDonald,
Ken MacDonald 16 Charnwood Ave, Willow Bank Johnstone 01505-337131
SEC/TREASURER/N/L CORR George Stewart 472 Main Street, Bonhill, Dumbartonshire
Stewart, 01389-758260
EVENT CO-ORDINATOR Wilson,
Bob Wilson 9 Brierie Avenue, Crosslee, Houston 01505-690907
MARKETING John Wylle, Fourwinds, Edmonstone Drive, Danderhall, Dalkeith 0131-660-2969
QUARTERMASTER Skinner,
George Skinner 84 Kirkwall Avenue, Blantyre G72 9NX 01698-828469
Page 2 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
Annual General Meeting
Life still begins at 40
Members reject move to lower entry age to 30
THE LVRC MEMBERSHIP LIKE THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE. At this
year’s AGM they made it clear that the League will con-
Principal points
tinue to be an organisation for Over-40s for the foresee- V LVRC will continue to be for riders over 40
able future. A motion to set up a working party to exam- V Regions will receive £2 of the subscription
ine the possibility of lowering the entry age to 30 was
heavily defeated, only the proposer and seconder vot-
for 2001
ing for it. There was little debate, no one offered the V riders banned by other bodies on a positive
enticing prospect of ‘doubling our membership over- drug test will be refused entry to LVRC
LVRC
night’, and the item took only a few minutes. events
Another potentially contentious proposal was aimed at
imposing on event organisers minimum distances for each V the League donates £1000 to the David
age category: A/B for 50 miles; C/D for 45; EFG for 40; Fund
Rayner Fund
and DEFG for 45. However, it was clearly felt that the V time-trial
a time -trial championship is added
present provision, which offers recommendations based on
times but no compulsion, are sufficient, and the motion V a hill- climb championship is added
hill-climb
failed. V Racing
an International R acing Secretary was
Rather surprisingly, however, the proposal that the elected
LVRC should refuse race entries to any rider banned by
other bodies following a positive drug test went through
with a large majority. In view of the League’s reputation no less) and George Nowland (Treasurer) and Eric King
for defying convention this move had looked likely to fail. (Registrar and Stock control) received warm thanks for their
Various speakers made it clear that it wasn’t an attempt to work for the League. Even more satisfying was their re-
get into bed with the BCF, but a wish to protect ourselves placement by volunteers – not a common occurrence.
against adverse publicity. We don’t wish to figure as the Hardly anyone had to have his arm twisted too hard. Peter
organising body which permits banned drug users to con- Wilson becomes Secretary, John Flear is the new Treas-
tinue to operate. One new rule will therefore be added to urer, and Eric King’s two roles will be divided between Alan
the list in next year’s handbook. Corbett (Registrar) and Dave Sinar (Stock Control). Coach-
This year’s meeting was positively suffused with good ing secretary Ray Minovi retains this post, but also takes
humour and friendliness. Several other innovations went over as Newsletter Editor from Dennis Tarr.
through largely unopposed. The Hill-climb Championship Regions receive a substantial financial boost: for 2001
was officially recognised, and next year there will be a time- they will receive £2 of the association’s subscription of £6.
trial championship as well. There was a general dislike, Previously they have received only £1.
however, of awarding too many jerseys, so in future it will The meeting also agreed to underwrite the initial costs of
be medals only for most events other than the road race hiring the Manchester track for meetings.
championships. The LVRC will donate £1000 to the David Rayner Fund
Mick Ives was elected to the new post of International for sending young riders abroad. The amount will be
Racing Secretary. He will begin by looking into expanding reviewed annually.
the opportunities for members to race abroad, with a pos- The League’s Fourmies Trophy for the year’s best per-
sibility of selecting representative teams at some time in formances in international events was awarded to Mick Ives.
the not-too-far-distant future. A full copy of the minutes may be obtained from your
Retiring officers Nev Ashman (eight years as Secretary, Regional Secretary.
The Veteran Leaguer Autumn 2000 Nutrition: nibble or gorge? Louise Burke 7
Contents Regional News 8
Regional officials 2 Collision: Driver Inconvenienced.
AGM Report 3 Tony Hewson 9
National officials for 2001 4 Race results & stories 10
Gino Bartali: obituary 4 Race photos 13
Editorial 5 Letters from members 14
Point of View 5 Book reviews 17
Officials’ reports 6 On the Dole Run 18
Track stars 6 Coach: basic training principles 20
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 3
Executive Committee 2001
Chairman Stock Controller
Peter Ryalls, 11 Devonshire Close, Dronfield, Dave Sinar, 2 Badger Way, Blackwell,
Sheffield S18 1QY 01246-413515
01246-4 Bromsgrove B90 1EX. 0121-622-4491
Secretary Event Co-ordinator
Peter Wilson 52 Knoll Drive, Southgate, Colin Willetts, 201 Mildenhall Road, Great Barr, Birming-
London, N14 5NE. 020-83680698 ham B42 2PE 0121-358-6768
Treasurer Results Co - ordinator
Co-
John Flear, 14a Water Lane, North Hykesham, Tom McCall, 1 Norfolk Road, Thornton Heath, London
Lincs.,LN6 9QS 01159-636449 CR7 8ND 0208-768001
Newsletter Editor & Coaching Secretary International Racing Secretary
Racing
Ray Minovi, 45 Augusta Road, Moseley, Mick Ives, 78 Mill Hill, Baginton, near Coventry
Birmingham B13 8AE Tel/fax: 0121-449-1347 CV8 3AG
email: raminminovi@cnews.freeserve.co.uk
Plus one representative from each region
Registrar
Alan Corbet, 41 Coles Lane, Sutton Coldfield Have a look at the LVRCWebsite on
B72 1NH 0121-240-7307 www.btinternet.com/~LVRC
Site controller: Roy Gardiner, e-mail: gardiner@btinternet.com
Ciao, Gino
On 5th May 2000 Gino Bartali died at his home near Flor- and the Tour of Switzerland in 1946. In 1948, at the age of
ence. He was 85 and the last surviving winner – indeed, 34, he returned to the Tour, which he dominated, despite
one of the last surviving riders – of a pre-war Tour de France. the efforts of the young Louison Bobet, finishing 22 min-
The Lion of Tuscany was one of the greatest roadmen utes ahead. He won the opening stage and seven others,
the sport has known. Born at Bagna-a-Ripoli, near Flor- including three mountain stages in a row, a feat no other
ence, on 18th July 1914 into a devout Catholic family, Bartali rider has ever achieved.
would remain almost excessively devout for the rest of his It was during this Tour that the Italian government called
life. Despite opposition from his father, a mason, he took on Bartali for help. An assassination attempt on the leader
up cycling and won his first race in August 1931. of the Communist party, Togliatti, had convulsed the coun-
It was apparent from the first that he was a rider of the try. It seemed that the government might fall. The Prime
highest class, with an iron constitution and remarkable Minister phoned Gino at his hotel in Cannes during the rest
powers of recuperation. One of the strongest climbers the day on 14 th July to impress upon him the importance of
sport has seen, his style was irregular, in and out of the winning in order to distract the Italian public from its trou-
saddle, with frequent bursts on what now seem unbeliev- bles. Next day Bartali destroyed the field, finishing five min-
ably high gears. After four very successful years as an ama- utes ahead of Vietto and 17 ahead of race leader Bobet in
teur, with 50 wins, he turned professional in 1935 and Briançon. Italy was calmed. Bartali was received by both
won the first of his four Italian road titles. The following the President and the Pope.
year he won the Giro for the first time – there would be His rivalry with Coppi became more intense. The two
two more – and took the first of three wins in the Tour of men came to detest each other, and they omitted no occa-
Lombardy. In 1937 he dominated the Tour de France un- sion to quarrel. For each, it became more important to beat
til he fell into a ravine while leading and was forced to the other than to win. In the 1947 World Championships
retire. He returned in 1938 to win by 18 minutes, taking both refused to race and were suspended by the Italian
two stages and the mountains prize, the first winner to do federation. When Coppi’s marriage fell apart the public
so. In 1939 came the first of four wins in Milan-San Remo. turned on him. Bartali grew in popularity. Yet the Tuscan
In Italy the devout and genuinely humble mason’s son was helped his bitter rival to win the 1949 and 1952 Tours, and
now accorded almost the status of a god. in later years they were to some extent reconciled, appear-
In 1940 a new champion arrived: Fausto Coppi, Bartali’s ing as friends and singing duets on TV programmes.
own team-mate, won the Giro at his first attempt at the He retired from cycle racing in 1955 with 170 profes-
age of 20. Gino won two stages but finished only 9th over- sional victories. He remained immensely popular, an icon
all. It was the start of a bitter rivalry that would divide Italy. of Italian sport, commentator, directeur sportif, and an hon-
Despite the war, Bartali continued to race until 1944 (un- oured guest on hundreds of occasions. Blessing the start of
like Coppi, who spent two years as a POW of the Allies) the 2000 Giro the Pope remembered him as a example for
and afterwards was soon back in action, taking the Giro everyone.
Page 4 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
The Veteran Leaguer R A N RA C Newsletter Editor
is the official News- TE
Ray Minovi,
U E O F VE
IN
letter of the League
G
45 Augusta Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8AE
Road, Moseley,
C YC L
of Veteran Racing
Cyclists Tel/fax: 0121-449-1347
AG
IS
TS
LE
email: raminminovi@cnews.freeserve.co.uk
First I want to thank my predecessors John
Scott and Dennis Tarr for their work as edi- Point of View Tom McCall
tors. John did the job for four years, putting in I HAVE JUST HAD an experience that seems to have stepped right
time and effort well beyond the call of duty. out of one of my recent Points of View.
He turned a newsletter into a magazine, and At a recent LVRC event I was in heated discussion with one of
Dennis has continued the good work. Volun- our strongest riders. The altercation started during the race and
tary work is often described as ‘a thankless continued in the HQ. Strangely, this was the first time I have had
task’, but it doesn’t have to be. So, thanks, any communication with this rider, whom I have admired from a
John and Dennis. distance for his ability.
There will be a few changes in the future. Un- The details of the exchange are unimportant, as it was a one-to-
fortunately (for those who like it) full colour is one situation – but one aspect of it stuck in my mind. The general
not a feasible option for The Veteran Leaguer – it view addressed to me was that, if anyone is unable, for whatever
just costs too much. So forthcoming issues will reason, to ‘participate’ in a race (I assume this means to ride at the
revert to the style used in January of this year, front, or to attack), then it was questionable why they should bother
with a single colour and a tint on the cover. Many in the first place. This view certainly got me thinking.
readers will feel that this muted tone suits our What about all the lads who line up in races week after week,
image better than full colour. get dropped, and just try to finish? Maybe they shouldn’t bother
The next issue will come out in January and at all!
be sent out with the Handbook. Discerning read- There are new members trying to establish themselves in the
ers will see that in the process we’ve lost an is- LVRC who have been surprised at the pace in our races. There are
sue, but eventually it will even out. many who are trying to improve themselves week after week, and
And speaking of readers brings me to another who are making gradual progress. Maybe they shouldn’t bother at
point: The Veteran Leaguer is your magazine. Ide- all!
ally it ought to be what you want it to be, so let’s I know of one rider that I used to ride against many years ago –
hear from you. And remember: while the Editor a good competitor in his day, who knows how to ride. He joined
reserves the right to edit, he doesn’t want to have the LVRC for the first time this year, and he is finding it hard going
to write the whole thing himself. Nearly every- at the moment, but he has progressed to the point where he is
one has an article or story or letter in him which now finishing races without getting dropped. Maybe he shouldn’t
we can print. This issue has two whole pages of bother at all!
letters, which shows what you can do if you put What about the lads who are in what I call the half-way house?
pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. It would These are the guys who will get a result if they have good legs on
be nice to get frequent information and feed- the day. But what if they’re on a bad day? Instead of just getting to
back from all the regions. If results of races come the finish in the event, maybe they shouldn’t have bothered at all!
in quickly, then they’ll be spread over all issues, A lot of riders in this bracket are affected in varying degrees in the
instead of one or two huge lumps. From now on summer by hay fever and related allergies. I am too, and it can
we’ll be offering clubs an advertisement for their turn a day of expectation into a struggle just to finish.
events at only £20, an offer very few will be able The implications of this are quite disturbing. If we eliminate alll
to refuse – and if you do, don’t forget: we know the people who apparently shouldn’t bother, then there will be
where you live. I look forward to being swamped precious few left!
under a deluge of paper. If we don’t get bums on seats, then there won’t be any races at
all. The greater part of the field in any race is made up of mem-
We welcome all contributions from any- bers who fall into the groups I have highlighted above, and quite
frankly we are beholden to them. These are the ones that I truly
one – letters, comments, results, arti- respect and admire, because they pay their £5 and line up cheer-
cles, reports, pictures, even abuse as fully week after week, just because of their love of the sport.
long as it’s in the best possible taste. Most champions and riders of quality that I have known, how-
The Editor reserves the right to edit. ever aggressive they may have been while racing, have generally
We’d rather have it handwritten than shown an element of humility, and have rarely been disparaging
not at all, but if you can type it or sup- about those of lesser ability.
ply it on computer disk we’re even hap- Cover picture: Steve Davis leads the winning break in
pier. Word, .rtf, or ASCII are all fine. the A Category Road Championships in the Kent
Deadline for next issue: Hopfields. Right to left: Phil Galloway, Steve Davis, Mick
10 December 2000 Gray, Rob O’Connor, Brendan Heaslip, Garry Hill.
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 5
Officials’ Reports 2000 between cycling organisations.We feel that our representa-
tion at these meetings is important. A main item for discus-
sion has been the Trafeco proposals relating to the antici-
Chairman pated legislation on the common minimum standards for
THE LEAGUE HAS enjoyed a successful year: membership events. Although there is little likelihood of legislation be-
has continued to increase, and has now reached 1900. ing implemented within the next few years most of the
On the down side there has been a fall in the total cycling bodies are preparing to undertake risk assessments
number of races promoted in 1999, but this was largely of their events and the BCF will implement this as standard
owing to the withdrawal of one organiser in Wales who practice beginning next season.
had had a very poor response to the great effort he put The CTC has asked other cycling groups to back its new
into promoting races. There’s a lesson here: we’re a rac- CycleSafe campaign.
ing organisation, we want races, and if we don’t support This year we welcomed the addition of a separate Scot-
them when they’re provided for us then they may dis- tish Region to our organisation.
appear. This is my last General Secretary’s Report and it has been
Fortunately the season has been a safe one, with no re- my pleasure to serve over the past eight years with many
ports of any serious accidents. loyal hard working officials who have guided the LVRC
We need to keep on top and to communicate region by through some difficult times. We are now a respected body
region on how applications for events are being treated by in cycling UK and acknowledged as being the major pro-
the authorities. My observations are that nothing has vider of veteran road races. I’m sure that we will continue
changed. The attitude to our use of the roads for racing, at to steadily grow if we concentrate on what we do best by
least in my area, is still dictated by the attitude of the re- supplying this niche market. However we are not a com-
gional or local officer in charge. A change in personnel can mercial company and our regional officials and race or-
lead to an overnight change for better or worse. To date I ganisers need the backing from all members. In particular I
have seen nothing to change my view that the biggest ob- would like to see a commitment from our racing members
stacle to future progress is Trafeco. This organisation is pro- to forgo one race per season to assist at an event.
moting regulation and is leading the BCF by the nose. There Nev Ashman
is in fact no sign of any legislation or move to amend the
1966 Act. Coaching Secretary
I hope that the overwhelming vote at the recent AGM BEING COACHING SECRETARY isn’t a very onerous task. Dur-
has nailed once and for all the attempt to lower our entry ing the year I get a number of phone calls from people
age for membership to 30. We are a veteran’s organisa- who want instant advice, and a few letters from people
tion: you can’t be 30 years of age and be a veteran. who want a more considered response. By and large, if I
Peter Ryalls don’t know the answer to a query, then the chances are
that I know a man (or woman) who does.
General Secretary This year I’ve had several medical queries. I can usually
THERE HAVE BEEN two meetings of the Executive Commit- give some kind of answer, but I’m only a layman, and if
tee this year. Regional representatives are always invited you’ve got a medical problem, then, ultimately, the sensi-
to these meetings and some regions were represented. ble thing is to consult a doctor. Try to pick one who’s cy-
We had our first reported accident in a road race, result- cling-friendly and won’t just ground you – they do exist.
ing in a claim from a motorist. This may possibly affect our I’ve got lots of material about training, nutrition and other
annual premium which at the present is very reasonable. subjects on disk which I can print out, but it would be nice
We renewed our affiliation to the ICF the International to get £1 worth of stamps to cover the costs of photocopy-
Cyclist Federation based in Belgium. ing, stationery and postage.
We have been represented at the Cycling Liaison Group The commonest query comes from beginners or return-
Meetings which are held quarterly and is attended by all ers: ‘How can I go fast enough to stay with the bunch.’ The
the main cycling bodies plus a selection of the smaller ones. short answer is: ‘Train’. There is no magic solution. But if
It provides a forum where common issues can be discussed you write, you’ll get a sympathetic answer and, hopefully,
and hopes to improve understanding and communication some useful advice. Ray Minovi
Last farewell to track stars
October saw the death of two legends of track cycling, est six-day riders, winning 34 races between 1934 and
Italian Antonio Maspes and Gustav Kilian. Antonio Maspes, 1951, usually partnered with his compatriot Heinz Vopel.
seven-time World Sprint Champion was 68. He won a On his retirement he became an outstanding track coach,
bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics, in Helsinki in 1952, taking the German team to three Olympic Gold medals
and in 1960 set a 200-metre record of 10.08. and five World Titles between 1962 and 1975. Born in
His contemporary Jan Derksen (81)said ‘Maspes was a Luxembourg, Kilian migrated to Germany as a child, but
real sprinter.Arie van Vliet and I needed a long sprint, but fled to America during the Second World War. He stopped
Maspes had a demarrage, he was explosive. After a sprint training at 70, but still rode his bike up until a few months
he was out, he needed real rest after a sprint.’ before his death. He never smoked or drank, and always
92-year-old Gustav Kilian was one of the the world’s fin- went to bed early.
Page 6 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
Nutrition: should athletes
Nibble or gorge?
Louise Burke
THIS IS THE QUESTION that was pondered recently in Paris feedings in the 1–4 hours before exercise either fail to af-
as part of a consensus meeting on ‘Periodicity of Eating fect or may even improve performance.
and Human Health’. Consuming carbohydrate during exercise is an important
Central to the discussion was the difficulty in measuring strategy for endurance events. The timing may be an issue
how people eat. Our knowledge is confused because of of opportunity provided by the sport (e.g. at aid stations,
the various ways that researchers have reported the occur- or at scheduled breaks), rather than a scientific idea (un-
rences of food and fluid intake. Dietary survey work is like runners, of course, cyclists can carry their own). The
fraught with errors, because people tend to under-report main advice is to eat sufficient carbohydrate early in exer-
intakes, particularly when they want to appear to eat ‘bet- cise rather than wait for the onset of fatigue. Early intake is
ter’ than they really do. also important in the recovery phase. An immediate intake
For athletes the timing and frequency of food intake has of carbohydrate will enhance restoration of muscle glyco-
been studied from a number of angles. Firstly, it appears gen — an important consideration when the next bout of
that athletes with high energy intakes eat frequently: typi- training or competition is scheduled in less than 8 – 12
cally 6-10 times per day. It seems practical to adopt a pat- hours. There are other ways in which timing and frequency
tern of ‘grazing’ small- to moderate-size meals and snacks of nutrient intake may affect training and performance.
over the day, rather than risk the discomfort of gorging on More research is needed here.
a few very large meals per day. The bottom line was that despite the perceived wisdom
Of course, athletes have to fit their eating around their of the value of ‘three square meals’ a day, most people eat
training and competition schedules. The timing of carbo- more often: typically 5-6 times a day. By itself, more fre-
hydrate intake before, during and after sessions of pro- quent eating apparently does not increase the risk of obes-
longed high-intensity exercise is also important. The goal is ity or affect the nutritional value of our diets. But again,
to match carbohydrate supplies to the fuel needs of exer- more research is needed before we can recommend a way
cise and recovery. Fuelling up before the event is impor- to spread our intake.
tant. Previous advice about avoiding sugar or other carbo- We should note that even if we could make strong guide-
hydrates in the hour before exercise is now seen to be mis- lines, it is notoriously difficult to get people to change how
placed. The concern followed the over-publicity received they eat. We choose the way we eat to meet a variety of
by one study, which reported reduced performance during social, emotional, physiological, cultural, and practical
exercise following a glucose feed the hour before. Since needs. Despite any benefits, we tend to be creatures of
then at least 10 studies have shown that carbohydrate habit and resist long-term change.
Louise Burke is at the Australian Institute for Sport and is the author, with John Hawley, of Peak
Performance: Training & Nutritional Strategies for Sport
Fircroft A hotel for all seasons, superb restaurant,
large car park. All 52 rooms en suite, col-
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Fax: 01202-395-6440
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 7
News from the Regions
North
Region 5: East & Nor th Midlands The Region’s trackmen were also active at the Masters
The summer races in the Region have been exceptionally championships at the Velodrome. Steve Davies took Silver
well supported and over-subscribed in every case. The Tom and Bronze in the Points and the Individual Pursuit, and
Simpson Memorial on 18th June attracted a massive entry Wally Collins got silver in the sprint and a special award
of 173 riders. Held on one of the warmest days of the year for his ride in the 500m time-trial.I don’t doubt the young
over an alternative course at Edlington near Doncaster, the Brits who did so well at the Sydney Olympics would be
event was a credit to Jenny Downing and the large team of pleased to know that the guys at the older end of the sport
organisers from the Dinnington RC. The hot conditions and can still hack it.
the ‘undulating’ circuit (Handbook description), together Yvonne McGregor’s Bronze Medal in the Pursuit in Syd-
with the tenacity of the competitors in all categories, were ney prompted a unanimous vote by the meeting to invite
a fitting tribute to the man in whose memory the race was her to honorary membership of the LVRC. It was felt that
promoted. not only should we honour her for her past performances
Mention should be made of two other organisers this year. but because she will join our age ranks next season she
Thanks are due to Terry Beisty for taking on the Laughton might gain practical benefits from riding our events!
Forest road race at Scunthorpe on 23rd July, his first LVRC The Otley CC clubroom now houses the Ron Kitching
event. The completely flat circuit inevitably ends with a Library. This is a unique collection of cycling memorabilia,
fast and furious gallop for all cats, with consequent diffi- books, photographs, and bound copies of cycling litera-
culties for the judges. Perhaps the video camera used a ture. This extensive collection is now available for inspec-
few years ago at the finish of this event might help? Unfor- tion by all lovers of the sport.
tunately Terry had a nasty fall on the Quibell Park track in
Scunthorpe and suffered facial injuries. We wish him a Region 4: Manchester & N. Staffs
speedy recovery. Our appreciation too to George Minion: The Region was lucky to gain two new organisers this year
when the police refused to allow the old circuit for the Car in Dave Farmer and Bob Murray. Both endured baptisms
Colston road race on 30th July, following accidents in other of fire, as the weather was poor for both events. Otherwise
events, George re-arranged an alternative at very short both races were very successful, and I’m pleased to report
notice. The new circuit was considered safer my most of that both want to organise again next year. In fact, Dave
the riders. intends to run two events.
In the next issue I hope to report on the Regional AGM. The winter series of track training sessions will be held again
In the meantime some of the Region 5 members might this year. In addition to the November, December and Janu-
look forward to next year’s Tour of Flanders, usually run in ary dates already in the Handbook there will be additional
early April. It is 40 years since Tom Simpson won this clas- sessions on 10th February and 10th March. You can enter
sic and I’m told that the organisers are therefore hoping for all five for the price of four. Where else can you be guaran-
support from the UK for one of the pre-race non-competi- teed dry training in the winter?
tive rides over some of the Tour course the day before. A small contingent of members from the Region rode the
Travel from this area is straightforward, with regular sea Etape du Tour in July. They had to contend with atrocious
crossings on the ferry from Hull. Having done the trip this conditions on the Ventoux after 90 miles, but all finished:
year with Region 2 members I recommend tyres with some Dave Riley, Dave Watson, Frank Roach and Terry Knox,
tread depth to cope with the cobbles and variable cycle in that order. Well done.
track surfaces. Rod Forster
West
Region 6: West Midlands
Yorkshire
Region 2: N.E. England & Yorkshire This year the Region has promoted more road races (as
The Region’s AGM on 24th October was attended by 32 opposed to evening crits on closed circuits) than ever be-
members, some of whom had travelled nearly 100 miles. fore and more than any other Region, with racing on no
Entries in the region’s road races have increased signifi- less than 19 days. The Region is easy to reach from other
cantly this season, to the point where date clashes with areas, and for the first half of the season all our events
adjoining regions are less significant than they were. An were heavily over-subscribed, but by midsummer things
event was cancelled because of a clash with Regions 1 and had calmed down.
5, but since their events were oversubscribed it could have Run on a season-long points basis in the past, the Re-
gone ahead, in fact. These factors are indicators of the suc- gional Championships were run as a one-off event on the
cess of LVRC promotions. evening of 28th June, finishing under a thundercloud so
The region has had a successful international season on dark that riders had difficulty picking their way safely down
both road and track. In the ICF World Championships at some of the descents.
Eastway George Bennett took the gold medal and Jack Chris Singleton also promoted the first National Handi-
Watson was fourth in their age category event, and Derek cap Championship with the help of several clubs in the
Smith won the Silver Medal in his age category. In the ICF Region. The event was a great success, with ninety entries.
time-trial Championship in Cheshire John Lawton won the The E group got their act together from the beginning,
Gold Medal in his event. with a 20-man line-out hammering along for the first three
Page 8 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
laps. They mopped up the groups in front and were still
over 30 seconds clear of the scratch riders at the finish,
where Ray Minovi beat Ken Haddon and Bernie Burns in Collision: driver inconvenienced
a 25-man sprint. Ray went on to win the ICF World Time-
Inconvenienced? I’ll say, not half, Love!
trial Championships for the Over-60s, averaging 27.6 mph
over a rolling Cheshire road, only 47 seconds slower than I’ll be late home tonight.
the fastest 30-year-old. His 60+ win in the Hill-climb brings This geezer on a push-bike
his year’s tally of category victories to 19. Racer type, fluorescent lycra,
The Stourbridge Elite squad has secured substantial spon- All that stuff, but a wrinkly,
sorship for next year from A&H Construction and Parker Must be on something
International. EY Electrical & Cranes and Merry Hill remain
Elastic!
co-sponsors. Jerseys have had to be made two sizes bigger
to accommodate all the sponsors’ names and only very, Comes back at me up the road
very large riders need apply to the club for membership. Sudden like
Next year the club plans an assault on national time-trial A foot out from the kerb.
titles, so LVRC riders may see less of the rear view of big Six inches, three, I’ve scraped on by.
Roger Iddles, who has dominated the D cats this year, and But no chance! I hits him smack behind
won both the Region’s stage races. Among other successes
Chris Singleton won the B Cat criterium title, Ken Haddon
Or so they say, the witnesses.
took 3rd in the E road championships, and had a win and He must’ve wobbled.
a string of second places during the year. Never saw him till too late.
Next year’s calendar looks as though it will be equally Sorry? Course I was, Love.
busy, with two stage races, several evening events planned, The inconvenience!
and the return of the Severn Stoke road race in June. His helmet rolls off in the tumble.
Anyone interested in coming on the training weekend to
Knighton on 10th and 11th February should contact Ray
Grey hair’s stained a bloody red.
Minovi, 0121-449-1347. Fashionable or what! Joke, Love, joke!
Comic if it wasn’t so bloody inconvenient.
Region 9: London and South East Picks himself up, moans “Oh me bike!”
Fred Little would like to pass on a big thank-you from rid- His bike? Well, that’s a tangle
ers to event organisers for putting on no fewer than 45 Wrapped round me bumper
events this year. In addition to the Hillingdon and Eastway
Events, the South Western RC promoted on the Ellen’s
Bits in bits, like them Russian dolls.
Green circuit this year and hopefully together with other He’s lucky. A few fractures, punctured lung.
clubs will start another Saturday series to follow on from That sort of thing. Nothing
the Veterace 90 series which is sadly missed. The open Two weeks in hospital won’t mend.
road races in Essex, Kent and Surrey attracted full fields. Me? I’m just fine, but fuming.
Thanks to Roger Hornsby, Catford CC, for finding a chal- Headlamp smashed, paint all scratched,
lenging course for the A & B Championships won by Phil
Galloway and Garry Hill. Following his recent illness all
Two hours at the station. Calls me brief.
Garry’s friends and acquaintances in Region 9 wish him all He reckons on a day in court
the best for the future. Maybe. Three points on and something of a fine
Trevor Maddern’s Sunday events at Eastway saw 35 to Unless we prove it’s his fault, of course.
40 riders turning out and included a lap handicap for new Shocked, Love? I’ll bet you were,
riders to bunch racing. The Ciclos Uno winter training rides Cut off like that mid flow,
are planned at Eastway from 12th November, 10.30am.
Norman Bright’s Eastway Green jersey series was again
The mobile half stuffed down me throat
successful this year with 35 to 40 riders regularly turning With standing on the brakes.
out. Competitive racing saw Roly Crayford, San Fairy Ann, But listen. Video Clarkson for me.
win the handicap event, with the White points jersey going Don’t forget. He’s testing out the latest GTX.
to Patrick Schils riding for Interbike Shop. Trevor Smith It does a ton foot off one to six.
tells me the Hillingdon Summer series was well supported That’s something I don’t intend to miss.
with some 35 to 45 riders racing on every second Wednes-
day. Yes, Love, I know I’m breaking up
Good luck to Pete Wilson who will be taking over as And I’ll be late but not so late
National secretary from Nev Ashman.
I hope all regional news correspondents will continue to
As that old geezer’d’ve been
supply The Veteran Leaguer with news and articles. After Without my fast reactions.
all, some 1200 members or over 60% join the LVRC just to Schumacher or what!!
keep in touch and read the newsletter. Joke, Love. Joke!!
A regional meeting will be held on 7th January, start-
ing at 11.30 a.m. at Eastway. John Scott Tony Hewson
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 9
Racing: stories and results
Scottish TT Championships (B); 6. S. Davies (B). Keith Jones (A); 4. N. Russell (A); 5. G. Smith
Lesmahagow, 17 th June. 32 miles Category winners: (B); 6. J. Williams (B).
1. Bill Matthews (A/B) 1.12.59; 2. Rob A . Tony May. B . Brian Davison Category winners:
Wilson (A/B) 1.13.50; 3. M. McPherson (C/D) Race 2: C/D A Keith Gordon B Alan Belton
1.14.30; 4. P. Jamieson (A/B) 1.19.15; 5. B. 1. Ken Cowdell (C); 2. Rob Stones (C); 3. Race 2: C/D
Graham (E/F) 1.24.41; 6. B. Moore (E/F) Dave Hargreaves (C); 4. J. Wright (D); 5. J. 1. Tommy Hagan (C); 2. Dave Hargreaves (C);
1.26.59; J. Reid (G) 1.30.33. Tingle (D); 6. F. Simpson (D). 3. Dave Jones (C); 4. A. Ramsay (C); 5. J.
Category winners: Tingle (D); 6. J. Davies (D).
Tour of the Masts: Lou Miller Memorial. C Ken Cowdell. D. Jack Wright Category winners:
Elswick, 25th June Race 3: E/F C Tommy Hagan D John Tingle
A 1.Ian Walker; 2.Bill Miller; 3.Roy Holard 1. Len Jones (E); 2. Bryn Davies (F); 3. Mike Race 3: E/F
B 1.Mal Fraser; 2.Steve Horsey; 3.John Saxton (E); 4. D. Smith (E); 5. B. Burns (E); 1. Brian Sedgley (E); 2. Jack Watson (E); 3.
Archer 6. R. Smith (F). Brian Ellis (E); 4. E. Hayes (E); 5. D. Faulkner
C 1.Gordon Helme; 2.Geoff Brandt; 3.Dave Category winners: E Len Jones (E); 6. T. Smith (E).
Jones F Bryn Davies Category winners:
D 1.Pete Maxwell; 2.Jeff Barber; 3.Charlie th
E Brian Sedgley F G. Hughes
Callan Ciclos Uno, Eastway, 9 July
E 1.Nev Ashman; 2.Pete Fenton; 3.Brian A Mick Hill; B Mick McManus; C Bill Tour of the Wolds, Louth, Lincolnshire 16th July
Sedgeley Butterworth; D John McMillan; E George A 1. Ian Harvey; 2. P. Webster; 3. K.
F 1.Hartley Stanfield Potter; F Mike Brushett. Middleton
th th
B 1. Dave Marsh; 2. G. Hill; 3. B. Pape
Region 6 Championships, Astley, 28th June Enville 2-day, Stourbridge area, 15 /16 July C 1. Phil Etches; 2. K. Cowdell; 3. J. Clarke
Race 1, A/B/C Stage 1, 53 miles D 1. J. Blacker; 2. J. Downing; 3. A.
1. Marcus Walker (A); 2. Phil Bayton (B); 3. Race 1: A/B Hitchcock
Joe McGhee (B); 4. Chris Singleton (B); 5. 1. Nick Yarworth (A); 2. Phil Galloway (A); 3. E 1. Geoff Lee; 2. B. Burns; 3. B. Thomas
Dave Sinar (A); 6. Howard Jones (B). Phil Bayton (B); 4. R. O’Connor (A); 5. C. F 1. Bryn Davies; 2. D. Smith; 3. J. Flear
Race 2, D/E/F/G Singleton (B); 6. D. Killgallon (A). G 1. Syd Wilson; 2. John Lawton
1. Roger Iddles (D); 2. Ray Minovi (E); 3. Ken Race 2: C/D/E nd
Haddon (E); 4. H. McGuire (E); 5. R. Smith 1. Roger Iddles (D); 2. Ray Minovi (E); 3. Follicly-challenged RR, Ellens Green 22 July
(F); 6. J. Mullen (D). Mick Ives (E); 4. K. Haddon (E); 5. J. Wright Race 1: A/B/C
Category champions (D); 6. P. Halliwell (C). 1.Ben Dallison (B); 2. Graham Geddes (C); 3.
A . Marcus Walker; B. Phil Bayton; C. Dave F/G:
Race 3: F/G : Ray Palin (B); 4. D. Griffiths (C); 5. B.
Hartshorne; D . Roger Iddles; E . Ray Minovi; 1. Tony Summerfield (F); 2. John Pottier (G) Butterworth (C); 6. A. Clarke (C).
F. Roger Smith; G. John Pottier. Category winners: A Peter Pickers
Stage 2 54 miles B Ben Dallison C Graham Geddes
Solihull RR Bearley 1st July Race 1: 1. Rob O’Connor (A); 2. Derek Race 2: D/E/F/G
Race 1 A/B/C Kilgallon (A); 3. Steve Bennett (A); 4. T. May 1. Tom McCall (D); 2. John McMillan (D); 3.
1. Neil Martin (A); 2. Barrie Mitchell (C); 3. (A); 5. N. Yarworth (A); 6. B. Davison (B) John Duckworth (D); 4. L. Benton (E); 5. B.
Steve Proud (A); 4. G. Smith (C); 5. C. Race 2: 1. Roger Iddles (D); 2. Ray Minovi McCombe (D); 6. A. Bunn (D).
Singleton (B); 6. D. Kilgannon (A). (E); 3. John Stokes (C); 4. G. Walters (C); 5. Category winners: D. Tom McCall
Category winners: A . Neil Martin K. Haddon (E); 6. P. Halliwell E Len Benton F Brian Hawkridge G Roy
B. Chris Singleton. C. Barrie Mitchell R ace 3: Godbeer
Race 2 D/E/F/G 1. Tony Summerfield (F); 2. John Pottier (G) Newbury RR, 23 rd July
1. Ray Minovi (E); 2. Ken Haddon (E); 3. Pete Overall Category winners: A 1. Ian Donohoe; 2. Peter Smith; 3. Derek
Ryalls (E); 4. N. Armstrong (D); 5. J. Mullen A. Nick Yarworth B. Phil Bayton Kilgallon
(D); 6. D. Birch (D). C Peter Halliwell B 1. Chris Davies; 2. John Barker; 3. R.
Category winners: D. Nick Armstrong D. Roger Iddles E. Ray Minovi Bartlett
E . Ray Minovi F. Roger Smith F Tony Summerfield G John Pottier C 1. Barrie Mitchell; 2. Bill Butterworth; 3.
th
Dave Griffiths
Bashall Eaves Evening Bash 5th July Reservoir Old Dogs RR, 16 July D 1. Dave Benger; 2. R. Smith; 3. John
Race 1 A/B/C Race 1: A/B/C McMillan
1. Kev Shand (C); 2. Peter Halliwell (C); 3. 1. Ray Palin (B); 2. Bill Butterworth (C); 3. E 1. Mick Ives; 2. Arnold Russell; 3. Jim
Roy Francis (A); 4. A. Swimby (C); 5. J. Dave Worsfold (C); 4. P. Schils (A); 5. D. Harwood
Standley (C); 6. D. MacGregor (A). Griffiths (C); 6.B. Crayford (C); 7. D. Smith F 1. John Anthony; 2. Pete Sandy; 3. Brian
Race 2 E/F/G (A); 8. C. Gunter (C); 9. T. Devine (C); 10. D. Staples
1. Peter Riley (F); 2. John Jackson (E); 3. Wright (B). rd
Harry Benson (G). Category winners: A Patrick Schils Laughton Forest RR, Gainsborough 23 July
B Ray Palin C Bill Butterworth A 1. Ian Harvey; 2. James Forrest; 3. Dave
Kentish Hop RR, Horsmonden, Kent. 2nd July R ace 2: D/E/F/G Maughan
1. Graham Geddes (C); 2. Dave Worsfold (C); 1. Derek Smith (E); 2. Brian Hawkridge (F); 3. B 1. Ken Downing; 2. Gaz Hill; 3. Steve
3. Dave Griffiths (C); 4. D. Naylor (C); 5. H. Roly Crayford (E); 4. D. Friend (E); 5. T. Greasley
Webb (C); 6. P. Ruta (C); 7. T. Trett (C); 8. McCall (D); 6. J. Duckworth (D); 7. P. Foster C 1. Ken Cowdell; 2. Dave Marsh; 3. Phil
Dave Smith (C); 9. R. Crayford (E); 10. T. (D); 8. G. Wallis (D); 9. A. Russell (E); 10. D. Etches
McCall (D). Nickolay (D). D 1. John Downing; 2. Dave Gretton; 3. Mal
Category winners: C Graham Geddes D Tom Category winners: D Tom McCall E Derek Robinson
McCall E Roly Crayford F Brian Hawkridge Smith F Brian Hawkridge G Roy E 1. Ben Thomas; 2. Derek Atter; 3. Brian
th
Godbeer Bliss
Seamer RR, Stokesley, 9 July. F 1. John Flear; 2. Derek Smith; 3. Terry
Race 1: A/B Saighton RR, Chester 16th July Jarman G 1. Syd Wilson
1. Brian Davison (B); 2. Steve Webster (B); Race 1: A/B
3. Tony May (A); 4. D. Scargill (B); 5. G. Hill 1. Keith Gordon (A); 2. Alan Belton (B); 3.
Page 10 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
th
Elswick RR. Lou Miller Memorial 2. 30 July
A 1. Nev Pearson; 2. Roy Francis Mar tin, Cooke & Minovi win Civil War battles
Martin, Cooke War
B 1. Stephen Horsey
C 1. Gordon Helme; 2. Graham Copestake A H A R D C O U R S E , determined fields, ers on GC, finished two minutes clear,
D 1. Pete Maxwell strong winds and belts of rain made the moving up to 4th.
E 1. Pete Fenton; 2. Brian Ellis; 3. Brian going hard in the Tour of South Warwick- Sunday afternoon’s 12-mile Time Trial
Sedgley shire Two Day. 15 miles after the start of saw only three riders from all three races
Stage 1, fearsome Edge Hill, site of the exceed 25 mph. Fastest of all was 56-
th
Car Colston RR, Nottingham, 30 July famous Civil War battle, saw another year-old Roger Iddles with a stunning
A 1. Simon Day; 2. Paul Wakefield; 3. Jim struggle, and all the races split. Neil Mar- 26.29 which took him up to third, jump-
Forrest tin led the charge in race 1, local man ing over Woodcock who had a disas-
B 1. Ian Lovell; 2. Gary Hill; 3. K. Downing Phil Cooke led in race 2, and in Race 3 trous time-trial, lost a massive 5.25, and
C 1. Barrie Micthell; 2. Terry Devine; 3. Phil Mick Ives stamped up on 42 x 19. He dropped to fourth. Second fastest was
Etches was caught by Ray Minovi at the sum- 61-year-old Ray Minovi in 28-05, which
D 1. John Downing; 2. Alan Hitchcock; 3. mit, and the pair stayed clear for the rest gave him Race 3 with a lead of 2.10 over
John Elliott of the 50 miles, Ives taking the sprint from E Category Champion Ives. Ives took
E 1. Mick Ives; 2. George Bennett; 3. Derek a tired Minovi, and a two-second lead. mountains and sprints, with Minovi sec-
Atter The bunch was at four minutes, with Ben ond in both. In Race 2 Phil Cooke
F 1. John Anthony; 2. Roger Smith; 3. John Thomas sandwiched between. moved to the top with a fine 29.05, 2.49
Flear In Race 1 a group of 12 riders stayed ahead of former leader Woodcock. In
together until near the finish, where Race 1 Neil Martin maintained his domi-
th
Hardly Athletic RR, near Bristol, 6 August Martin took it from Galloway and nance with a fine 28-08, and there was
Race 1: A/B O’Connor . In Race 2 three riders, Tony no change in the order.
1. Neil Martin (A); 2. Keith Lilley (A); 3. Woodcock, Cooke and Dave Hargreaves, With £1,500 in prizes, Trophies for all
Derek Kilgallon (A); C. Davies (B); 5. D. went clear on Edgehill, finishing in that events winners, Race Leaders Jerseys,
Pearks (A); 6. L. Woodford (A). order 3.45 clear of Barrie Mitchell and Mountains and Sprint winners Jerseys,
Category winners: Roger Iddles who’d been unable to stay Team Prizes, and plenty of sponsorship
A Neil Martin B Chris Davies with the leaders on Edgehill and lost it’s no surprise that the event attracted
Race 2: C/D/E/F more time going off course. But he wasn’t entries from all over the country. The
1. Ray Minovi (E); 2. Lew Gardiner (C); 3. finished yet. roads were quiet, there was race serv-
Phil Cooke (C); 4. D. Pitman (C); 5. S. Phillips Sunday morning’s Stage 2 over 35 ice for each race and motorcycle out-
(C); 6. R. Guy-Smith (D). miles saw a truce in all three races, riders. Next year, they say, it’s going to
Category winners: though in Race 3 Hugh McGuire rode be bigger and better: get your entries in
C Lew Gardiner D Robert Guy-Smith away and, as he was no threat to the lead- early.
E Ray Minovi F John Anthony
th
Circuit of Bredon, Tewkesbury, 13 August Race 3: E/F/G Race 2: C/D
Race 1: A/B 1. Roger Smith (F); 2. Hugh McGuire (E); 3. 1. Pete Maxwell (D); 2. Davy Jones (C); 3.
1. Nick Yarworth (A); 2. Chris Duffield (A); 3. Ken Haddon (E); 4. P. Sandy (G); 5. J. Orwin Trevor Horton (D); 4. P. Halliwell (C); 5. G. Helme
Marcus Walker (A); 4. S. Jones (B); 5. C. (E); 6. B. Williams (E). (C); 6. P. Miller (D).
Davies (B); 6. P. Taylor (A). Category winners: E. Hugh McGuire F Category winners:
Category winners: Roger Smith G Pete Sandy C Davy Jones D Pete Maxwell
A. Nick Yarworth B Steve Jones rd
Race 3 E/F
Race 2: C/D Bickerton Races, 23 July 1. Derek Smith (E); 2. Brian Sedgley (E); 3.
1. Roger Iddles (D); 2. Dave Griffiths (C); 3. A/B
Race 1: A/ Bernard Burns (E); 4. J. Atkinson (E); 5. B.
Paul Foster (D); 4. Terry Devine (C); 5. D. 1. Roy Francis (A); 2. Malcolm Fraser (B); 3. Pearson (E); 6. R. Smith (F).
Benger (D); 6. P. Cooke (C). Gordon Wallace (A); 4. N. Russell (A); 5. C. Category winners:
Category winners: Singleton (B); 6. S. Horsey (B). E Derek Smith F Roger Smith
C Dave Griffiths D Roger Iddles Category winners: th
A Roy Francis B Malcolm Fraser Cheshire Challenge, 13 August
A 1. Neil Russell; 2. Gary Wilcox; 3. Steve
Gutteridge.
A & B Championships 2nd July Horsmonden, Kent B 1. Paul Fisher; 2. J. Beard; 3. John Archer
C 1. Peter Kay; 2. Alan Swimby; 3. Tommy
A strong field set off in sunny conditions the efforts of prominent individuals in Hagan
around the Kent hop fields on a challeng- the bunch the gap steadily increased to D 1. Trevor Horton; 2. John Downing; 3. John
ing course with three one-mile long hills. two minutes. Up the climb to the finish Tingle
Patrick Schils, Malcolm Whitehead and Grey and O’Connor were setting the E 1. Mike Wright; 2. Mike Saxon; 3. Brian
Richard Barroughclough were active pace, but 300 metres from the line Phil Sedgley
early on, but no attack gained more than Galloway jumped and held off Grey by F 1. Derek Smith; 2. Geoff Hughes; 3. Vin Ly-
25 seconds before the bunch reeled half a wheel, with O’Connor third. ons
them in. Then on the second lap came Vin Denson and ex-Hercules pro
th
the decisive break: a group containing (1954!) Dennis Talbot presented the Fareham, Hants, 20 August
Mick Grey, Phil Galloway, Rob prizes, winners’ jerseys and medals. A A 1. Gary Wilcox; 2. Rob Cranstone; 3. Alastair
O’Connor, Brendon Hislip, Garry Hill special thanks to organiser Roger Asher
and Steve Davies got clear and despite Hornsby. B 1. Dave McMullen; 2. Peter Wilson; 3. Ralph
Wilson
Category A Category B C 1. Terry Devine; 2. Dave Griffiths; 3. Dave
1. Phil Galloway; 2. Mick Grey; 3. R ob Rob 1. Garry Hill; 2. Steve Davies; 3. Dave Pitman
O ’Connor 4. Brendan Heaslip; 5. Patrick
’Connor; Marsh 4. Ray Palin; 5. Malcolm Whitehead; D 1. Tom McCall; 2. Dave Birch; 3. Alan Burn
Schils; 6. Ian Ferrel; 7. Richard Hutt; 8. Mick 6.Christopher Hill;7. Ben Dallison; 8.Terry E 1. John Orwin; 2. Paul Gresham; 3. Jim
Hill; 9. Mark Cope; 10. Reade Harfield; 11. Hutton; 9.Mick McManus; 10.Robert Harwood
John Marshall; 12.Paul Merralls; 13. Graham Bartlett; 11. Des Keeney;12. David Freeman F. 1. Bryan Staples; 2. John Anthony; 3. Derek
Sims;14. Ken Baker;15. Martin Hulbert . 13. Richard Barraclough;14. Martin Bush Harris
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 11
th
Great Milton RR, Oxfordshire, 27 August
Race 1: A/B/C
1. Nick Yarworth (A); 2. Paul Freeman (A); 3.
Steve Thomas (A); 4. G. Geddes (C); 5. B.
Getting the results in
Heaslip (A); 6. D. Griffiths (C).
Category winners: A Nick Yarworth
DURING THE YEAR I have been incontact with How we can
Cycling Weekly about LVRC race results –
B Ralph Wilson C Graham Geddes
frequency, quality etc – with some success.
help ourselves
Race 2: D/E/G
1. Dave Benger (D); 2. Derek Smith (E); 3. Ken There has been an improvement. The LVRC V use the special
Haddon (E); 4. S. Walters (E); 5. J. Miller (D): was featured in a good article, complete
form for submitting
6. T. McCall (D). with picture, in Keith Bingham’s Local News.
Category winners: D Dave Benger And it was very satisfying to see a good
re-
Championship re -
E Derek Smith G Pete Sandy sults
write-up and report of the inaugural Na-
National Criterium Championships, Lichfield City tional Handicap Championship. So what do V include all club
Centre we have to do to get more of the same?
A 1. Phil Galloway; 2. Mac McReady; 3. Mick Snowdon Sports is responsible nowadays
and team names
Hill; 4. Stephen Bennett
B 1. Chris Singleton; 2. Peter Chapman; 3. Gary
for the appearance of Cycling Weekly’s re- V phone, fax or e -
Hill; 4. Dave Ross
sults, and I have talked to Graham Snow- mail results the
don about our expectations. We would be
same day if possi-
Lichfield Criteriums happy with a regular flow of tabular results,
C 1. Barrie Mitchell; 2. Gordon Smith; 3. Peter with reports for actual Championships or ble, or as soon as
Mooney special events. I have prepared a Champi- possible after -
after-
D 1. Hugh Canning; 2. Dave Griffiths; 3. Alan
Jones
onship result form which is available from wards
E 1. Peter Ryalls; 2. Brian Ellis; 3. Len Jones me and which I encourage promoters to use.
G 1. John Pottier My address and number are on page 4. V include a report,
th
Snowdon’s say, of course, that they have but k eep it brief
keep
Woodbank Trophy, Congleton, 28 August too few column inches for too many results. and to the point –
Race 1 A/B/C
1. Mervyn Sperry (B); 2. Joe Williams (B); 3.
This does not explain why so many local don’t
don’t waffle
Steve Jolley (B); 4. A. Ramsay (C); 5. S. Hall time-trials get a column report which merely
(A); 6. G. Smith (C). repeats the tabular result, but that’s their V Results
send R esults Co -
Category winners: position. ordinator a copy of
A Stuart Hall B Mervyn Sperry C Alan Ramsay I will continue to chase up Cycling Weekly,
Race 2 D/E/F
all results
1. Les West (D); 2. Brian Sunter (D); 3. Ron
Snowdon Sports, and other magazines, with
Payne (D); 4. J. Tingle (D); 5. J. Watson (E); 6. the aim of getting in more articles, more
D. Watson (D). publicity for the League, and more results. Tom McCall
Category winners: D Les West
E Jack Watson F Bryn Davies
th
Antiques Road Show, Eastway, 28 August D amworth
Tamwor
Championships, 3rd June, Tamwor th
Race 1: A/B/C
There was little action from the field of 32 until the third lap when Roger Iddles
1. Mick Hill (A); 2. Dave McMullen (B); 3. Mick
powered away. Sensing the danger Tony Woodcock joined him, with John Leitch
McManus (B); 4. S. Mays (A); 5. T. Devine (C);
and Ken Cowdell bridging the gap shortly afterwards. It looked dangerous, but at
6. P. Chapman (B)
the front of the bunch Terry Devine and Gordon Smith worked hard to limit the
Category winners: A Mick Hill
lead, and the break was pulled back with just over a lap to go. Further attempts by
B Dave McMullen C Terry Devine
individuals and small groups to get clear were chased down, and with a mile to go
Race 2: D/E/F/G
Alan Boardman hit the front again with Dave Birch on his wheel and stayed clear
1. Tom McCall (D); 2. John Duckworth (D); 3.
to the line.
Norman Ferguson (D); 4. R. Barnes (D); 5. A.
Russell (E); 6. D. Friend (E).
;
1. Alan Boardman, 56m in 2. 36.42; 2. Dave Birch@ 4 sec; 3.John Downing@ 6 sec;
Category winners: D Tom McCall
4. Pete Miller ; 5. Jeff Gardner; 6. Lawrie Hunt; 7. Tony Woodcock; 8. Dave Gretton; 9. Bill
E Arnold Russell F Mike Brushett
Rains; 10. Roger Iddles; 11. Jeff Barber; 12. Tom McCall; 13. John Ginley; 14. Geoff
G Ray Venis
Moseley; 15. John Leitch all st.
rd
Dinnington RR, 3 September
A.1. G. Hill; 2. R. Harvey; 3. K. Brown C amworth
Tamwor
Championships, 3rd June, Tamwor th
B.1. D. Marsh; 2. I Murray; 3. S. Davies
Phil Cooke led the 48-man field past the HQ on the first lap, and for two laps
C.1. B. Mitchell; 2. R. Stones; 3. Alan Ramsay
every attack was chased down. On Lap 3 Graham Geddes, Dick Naylor and Gordon
D.1. B. Sunter; 2. D. Gretton; 3. J. Downing
Smith opened a gap and worked well together; but their lead never reached more
E.1. H. McGuire; 2. B. Ellis; 3. D. Smith
than 35 seconds, and they were pulled back. Then it was the turn of Lew Gardiner
F.1. J. Flear
and Graham Moore to try, but a number of riders bridged the gap to them, and
G.1. S. Wilson
with five miles to go the field was back together. Here Gordon Smith got clear with
Lew Gardiner and Graham Geddes and they stayed away to fight out the finish,
rd where Geddes took it by a length from Smith, with Gardiner tailed off.
Eastway, 3 September
A 1. Mick Hill; 2. Steve Mayes
1. Graham Geddes, 56miles in 2.29.20; 2. Gordon Smith, st; 3. Lew Gardiner @ 15; 4.
C 1. Terry Devine D 1. Eric Martin
Barrie Mitchell @ 20; 5. Alan Williams; 6. Dick Naylor; 7. Dave Maughan; 8. Tony Beddis;
E 1. Arnold Russell
9. Clive Pinfold; 10. Tommy Hagan; 11. Paul Ruta; 12. Paul Shoobridge; 13. Alan Bell; 14.
Mike Wilson; 15. Tim Raine; 16. Roger Barnes 17. Phil Cooke; 18. Mal Eccleston; 19.
Alan Belton; 20. Ken Shand all st.
Page 12 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
Patrick
Schils in
the Kent
Hopfields.
He fin-
ished 5th
Top left: the 70+ medal-
lists in the National Crite-
rium Champs: 1. Pete
Roger Sandy; 2. Roy Godbeer; 3.
Smith on Ray Venis
the attack Top right: Barrie Mitchell
in the takes the bunch sprint in
Circuit of the C Championships.
Bredon Right: Graham Geddes &
which he Ian Hallam lead in the ICF
won World Championships at
Eastway.
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 13
Letters
What I say to them is this: if you amalgamate, you will all
get shot off singly, and then you can either get off, or
carry on to the finish on your own. It must be better,
even when there are only a dozen of you, to start
From John Anthony, Andover together and to work together, and dispute the finish
I write to take up the discussion in your columns by McCall/ with your equals. You could even feel as if you had
Minovi/Ryalls on the subject of ethics and behaviour in our ridden a bike race and start looking forward to next
races. week. (There’s another point – what do you talk about in
First, a philosophical point. We are all familiar with the the dressing room if you each died an anonymous death
mantras ‘the only thing that matters is winning’ and ‘you out on the course?).
can do anything within the rules’. Well, up to a point. If So what I say to organisers is this: your weaker riders
winning is all, those who do not win will drop out and will not bombard you with entries for next year if you
leave the ‘winner’, in the end, with no race to win. don’t give them a chance to see what they can do.
Another way to say it is that sport, like life, is only worth- AB+CD+EFG gives them that chance. ABC+DEFG might
while when all parties get something positive out of it. be OK on a flat course, but anything else means they are
As one of the Living Dead riding in Group F I believe dead before they start, and then they cannot contribute
that some small and simple changes in our organisational to your race.
thinking could benefit all and cost nothing. I must em-
phasise that this is not an attack on our organisers, just an From Dave Orford
attempt to develop some improvements based on experi- Minimum distances for LVRC Road Races
ence. I have been concerned for some time that at most LVRC
Since returning to the warm bosom of the peloton in road race meetings only two events are run: ABC and DEFG.
1999 my form has improved all the way from going off As most organisers promote only one meeting per year, not
on the first hill to going off on the last hill in every race. a great deal is learned from that experience, as much as
There have been one or two glorious moments when I we all appreciate that organiser’s efforts. It is obvious that
got near the front and breathed fresh air for a change. I the older riders (FG) will go to the wall, as most of them
mention this merely to show that I have recent experi- will be seen off on the first reasonable climb. They will in
ence of how a newcomer or returner feels. most cases return to VTTA events as the LVRC do not cater
On three occasions this season I have had a group win for them correctly. I’m well aware that because of the above
without getting what I came for – a ride in a worthwhile there are not enough FG riders to warrant a separate event
bike race. In each case Race 2 was for CDEFG. In each – a chicken and egg situation.
case virtually all the EFGs were gone on the first lap, and For some years between 1986 – 1993 I promoted four
the remainder were gone on the second. All three races meetings a year, mainly on the Elton circuit, with each of
had been advertised as ABC and DEF(G). In one case a the four races at each meeting being 30 miles. We never
road accident on the course before the start caused a had fewer than 120 riders and by re-classifying the riders
hurried reorganisation, but in the other two cases the who were well off the pace from events ABC I was able
organiser announced the changes unilaterally. This is not to ensure that event D had around 30 riders. It was
by any means the main issue, but a legalistic complainer noted that even 40-year-old poor standard riders were
might make a lot of the argument that such changes are not able to live with the fit Over-60s, and when they did
only valid if they have the consent of all concerned. improve I moved them gradually back to their correct
More to the central point: what I think we should age category. This had the effect of keeping people with
reflect on is that a guy who gets shot off near the end us, as I had observed that by leaving it up to poor quality
will be back next week to do better, and eventually will riders to ask for re-classification to an older category did
be making a contribution as he improves. My experience not work. To cater for riders correctly there should be
is that this is perfectly realistic for an F as long as he is four races at each meeting: AB – CD – EF – GD.
riding with E and F only. As soon as the grouping is DEF, As only two events on the circuit at the same time is
the Fs will only survive by sitting in. When the race feasible by law, it is obvious that longer races would
includes Cs, the Fs will all go out the back, sooner rather extend the day’s racing beyond a reasonable length of
than later. In either of these last two cases the F riders time.
will not be getting better and will soon be off the scene.
Since the only realistic option for the majority in this From Chris Singleton
situation is to sit in and hang on, there grows up a It’s time that LVRC members grasped the fact that we
culture of negativity. Those who would like to race share the roads with the general public – and a lot of that
properly are inhibited by the presence of the sitters-in, general public think they have more right to the roads
who in turn are inhibited by the thought of the next hill. than cyclists do.
On the way home nobody will be thinking what a good, Three incidents have occurred in Region 6 events this
sporting and friendly race that was. year which could have had (could still have) serious
When the starting line-up of a particular group is repercussions. In the first the driver of an official car
small, the stronger riders may be tempted to accept became annoyed with the impatience of another driver
amalgamation with a higher group, thinking that they will and deliberately caused a minor bump. The result was
‘win’ by hanging on longer. Their weaker brethren might that an hour later a member of the local district council
be tempted, thinking that hanging on is all they know. turned up at the HQ to make a complaint.
Page 14 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
At our Regional championships, an evening event, bad grown in unpredictable proportions. This is a clear
weather made visibility very bad for the last half hour. A demonstration that the LVRC is getting it right – that our
motorist stopped in the finish area and came over to the members are getting satisfaction from their racing and are
judges to say how difficult it was to see the cyclists, and competing successfully into their dotage! Given that there
to suggest that they should have lights. It would have is a significant growth area at the top end of our age
been easy enough to have listened, said the right thing, span, can we open our ranks at the bottom end? I think
and sent him away satisfied. Instead somebody (one of not.
the riders) went to his car and took the keys, turning a We already have full entries this year. In my event I
minor incident into a major one, and one which could had four races running concurrently: to include a fifth to
have ended very badly indeed. accommodate the proposed 30 – 39 group is out of the
After the Handicap Championship I received a com- question.
plaint from a local resident that a rider in the event had As for Dennis’ claim that the LVRC is being made a
shouted and used bad language to her daughter who was laughing stock, that is preposterous. The LVRC has an
out riding her horse. I’m still sorting this one out more enviable reputation for the way it has developed since its
than three months later, and we could lose the circuit as inception in 1984.
a result. This is particularly annoying because I went to a
lot of trouble going round the circuit during the week From Eric Dyer, Oswestry
before, telling the locals what was going to happen and I was so amazed at the Editor’s claim in the last issue that
asking for their co-operation. At one time we lost a good the loss of a single organiser would result in the loss of
circuit because riders selfishly parked across the gateways up to 75 events that I looked in the handbook and did a
of residents on Sunday morning. quick count. The total of all road events, in all regions,
We have to recognise that the general public have including criteriums, time-trials and hill-climbs, is only
rights, and local people think they have more than 121. So the loss of 75 would indeed damage our calen-
anyone else. If we antagonise them, we are the only ones dar very severely. But then I saw that most of them are
who will end up losing. It is worth the effort of restrain- promoted by different people, so I cannot imagine by
ing ourselves and biting our tongues, no matter how what distortion of arithmetic this figure was arrived at.
annoying they may seem to us at times. It will be no Perhaps it depends on what you mean by ‘event’, but
good arguing that we were in the right if we’re prevented even then it doesn’t work. The biggest number of events I
from using the roads. could find promoted by a single individual is seven. Even
if he puts on five races (A, B, C, D, and Es and older) at
From Alan Edmondson, Region 2 Secretary each event it only totals 35 races. However, most of us
The first paragraph of the Editorial in the last issue of The think of an ‘event’ as the whole promotion. In any case,
Veteran Leaguer was a complete distortion of the facts. To since these are closed circuit events, what’s to stop him
deduce from the statement of one organiser who says putting on a special event for those under 40?
that he will not promote under LVRC rules unless he can No, if our Editor is going to campaign for us to be-
extend his entry to the 30 – 39 age group that fifty to come just another cycling organisation, rather than one
seventy-five events will be lost to us is a gross inflation. especially for veterans, then he will have to go about it
And to state that we don’t see LVRC members of 30 – 39 some other way than by making up false statistics. If he
years in the world championships is obvious: our mem- wants to campaign for something, then why not work at
bership does not extend to this age bracket, and why getting a lot more events in the west of England – there was
should it? Riders of that age who have the potential to only one event west of Bristol all year as far I can see.
succeed in the Worlds should have no problem compet- There are in any case serious practical objections to his
ing with younger riders. First category riders in their 40s proposal.
are not such a rare breed! 1. In many regions this year events were over-
However, I would support the inclusion of younger subscribed and entries had to be returned. There-
lady members into our membership. The road racing fore additional entries would have meant even
provision for ladies in Britain is inadequate, and slotting more riders being denied a ride.
them into LVRC events would not be difficult. Did I not 2. In some areas the police will only allow a
do this some five years ago in one of my events in maximum of 80 riders in all the races. To include
Yorkshire? It was successful: the ladies enjoyed the yet another age group would mean once again
competition, riding with veteran cyclists whose bike- returning more entries – who would lose out? and
handling skills and bunched riding experience is infinitely how would the promoter make the decision?
better than the other racing they had experienced in a 3. The last thing we want is a sudden large
typical Thirds and Juniors event. increase in our membership, because we haven’t
What happened to that initiative? I got a rap over the got the structure to support the extra admin. We
knuckles for including ladies in my event, and proposi- depend entirely on voluntary workers, and I have
tions for their inclusion at two subsequent AGMs were no doubt that most of them are doing as much as,
rejected.But to return to the notion of opening the and spending as much time on the LVRC as they
membership to riders of 30+. The development pattern can afford. If you increase the membership drasti-
in my region has shown an increase in riders of some- cally, then you’ll overload these workers and
thing like 10% per year. A significant factor in this in- they’re the ones who will quit – and we can’t
crease is that the entry within the over-60s groups has afford to lose them.
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 15
From Bob Lyle, Newbury The LVRC is now a powerful organisation with an ever-
The question posed by Dennis Tarr in his editorial in the increasing membership. The cycle racing world needs a
last Veteran Leaguer is not as straightforward as at first it powerful voice, and we have just that. Having raced
seems. At the moment most events are three races in internationally for the past 40 years, I believe that Great
one, running concurrently. The addition of another age Britain has the most powerful Veteran class in the world;
category will mean some other categories being left out. but at world level we never seem to produce the goods
At present our club finds it difficult to muster enough in that 30–40 region. Maybe by getting those age groups
marshals, cars, judges etc for an event lasting two hours – into regular competition under our organisation we will
and even then half the work force will have ridden a achieve even greater results.
time-trial in the early morning. As there aren’t too many I’m in favour of reducing the minimum age for LVRC
options open to us in West Berks we tend to use smaller members to 30, but would also like to suggest that Lady
circuits, so to insert another race would be impossible at members from 30 upwards compete in a 10-year older
present; and I doubt whether we could get marshals to cat to give them competitive racing. Clare Greenwood,
come out again in the afternoon for a separate event. who rode in 13 Tour Feminin events and finished them
The probable outcome would be for events for Over-50s all, regularly competes with Cat E riders and gets placed.
only (i.e. the best-subscribed races), and then the Under- She is in her early forties and finds this sort of competi-
50s would lose out. In addition, some circuits used for tion ideal for when she competes in events like the
30–40-year-olds might not be suitable for 60+. European and World Championships.
Handicap racing is an alternative, but this is already well Thank you for such an improved newsletter, and for
covered by the TLI. Would we want to encroach on their your kind comments on the National Championships. At
events? least our association gives credit for what we achieve:
I have no problem with 30–40-year-old women in the when I won the World Masters Cyclo-Cross Champs the
LVRC. I have raced against some in TLI events, and there BC-CA never even wrote to say ‘Well done’ and as for
are some excellent women riders. getting a photo in their Handbook – no chance! Another
Incidentally: do we have 50 – 75 LVRC races in the organisation that does nothing for Veterans.
South in total, let alone that number organised by one
person. We have certainly missed the Thruxton, From Peter Riley, Nelson, Lancs
Towcester and Vetarace events this year in the south – I would like through the LVRC magazine to thank all the
hopefully other promoters will pick up the slack next riders who entered the Colin Gates Memorial Road Race
year. on 14th May. After all expenses and levies were paid a
Finally the front cover picture is a superb example of profit of £50 was handed over to the Cancer Research
vets trying – a pity the man in the middle in blue and Campaign’s local branch. Thank you once again, every-
yellow is unidentified: he is Jeff Garner, organiser of our body concerned.
LVRC race this year. He won the D cat in the race
pictured, and usually gets placed in LVRC races. From Tony Hewson
I was appalled to read of the needless death of Bruce
From Mick Ives Bursford who, like so many other cyclists, has suffered at
I have been involved in promoting the Veteran classes in the hands of careless motorists. I’ve expressed my
British mountain-bike racing since 1989, and have feelings in the form of a poem (see page 9).
witnessed the increasing participation in the masters Congratulations on producing an excellent magazine. Up
events (30–40 years). It surely makes sense that we the League!
follow what is going everywhere else in the world and
open up our membership to the 30+ section. (The driver responsible has since been fined £300. Ed.)
Winter The sessions are suitable for riders of all
abilities, including novices. Cost is £5 per
Track Training event, and entries may be made on a
LVRC
standard LVRC form.
Manchester Velodrome
Velodrome Five for the price of four!
Saturdays Enter all five events in advance and you
November, December,
11 November, 16 December, pay £20 instead of £25.
January, February
13 January, 10 February 2001, Bike hire: £10 per session
& 10 March 2001 Watson
Information: Dave Watson 01457-837113
All sessions from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. except AnneAndDaveWatson@greenfieldyorkshire.freeserve.co.uk
AnneAndDaveWatson@greenfieldyorkshire.freeserve.co.uk
November,
November, which is 6 – 9 p.m. 207 Manchester Road, Greenfield, Oldham OL3 7HX
Road,
Page 16 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
Reviews
cycling coffee table books – just the thing to ask for from
someone near and dear to you for Christmas. Put yourself
first for once. Ray Minovi
Alfie on wheels A new perspective
The Yellow Jersey: Ralph Hurne. Breakaway Books 1998 It’s not about the Bike: Lance Armstrong, with Sally
(updated). 285 pages paperback. ISBN9 781558 214521 Jenkins. Yellow Jersey Press 2000. 275 pages hardback,
IN SOME VAGUE , unspecified era when the Beatles are al- £17.00. ISBN 9 780224 060868.
ready old hat Terry Davenport, is an English ex-pro ‘C YCLING IS A SPORT that rewards mature champions’ says
roadman, now 37, living in Belgium. A womaniser, lazy Armstrong, and in 1996, after ten years hard graft, world
and self-destructive off the bike, his job as team manager road champion at 22, winner of classics and Tour stages,
is pretty much a sinecure, so he spends his time dallying he felt he was coming into his prime. The world knows
with a well-off antiques dealer, her daughter, a visiting 19- what happened then. Diagnosed with spreading cancer at
year-old, and anyone else daft enough to fall for his looks 25 and written off by the cycling world, he suffered through
and an Ancient Roman chat-up line, very like Michael Caine months of agonising chemotherapy and convalescence.
in Alfie, a film which the author had obviously just seen. Armstrong holds back nothing. Chemo is very nasty, it hurts
A big problem with sporting fiction is that sport is already worse than the disease, and you’re never certain it’s going
a melodrama – you can’t make something larger than life to work anyway.
when it already is. Fictions therefore concentrate on the Poor at ball games, the young Lance was clearly a born
characters’ private lives, which are usually unbelievably fren- athlete. The unqualified support he received from his
zied or stultifyingly dull. Here they just seem contrived and mother was a major factor in his success, building the con-
unconvincing, and the racing is exactly as convincing as fidence in himself that enabled him to grow up independ-
the dialogue. Hurne knows very little about cycle racing, ent, an autonomous human being. Starting in triathlons at
though he sticks in a few technical terms from time to time. 12, by 16 he could earn his own living from prize money.
There’s never any sense of what it actually feels like to ride He was a pretty cocky kid, and his mentors must have been
in a race, and the accounts of racing are laughable. A young men of considerable patience and generosity of spirit.
rider says of the Tour, ‘I’ll win’. Davenport replies: ‘That’s ‘Ungenerous’ is not the word for the way his new team,
the spirit! Get stuck into those sprint finishes and you’ve Cofidis behaved. ‘Despicable’ – that’s the word. Shunned
got every chance!’ Tell that to Mario Cipollini. A few pages after his recovery he finally accepted a low-paid contract
of this tosh soon has you saying ‘I don’t believe this’, and with US Postal. It’s nice to think how frequently all the
that’s fatal. other pro teams who might have signed him are kicking
First published in 1973 this is the third reprinting, ‘slightly themselves now. Nike, Oakley and Giro, however, sup-
updated’ – but it’s virtually the only novel in English based ported him throughout. This is an American success story
on cycle racing – so take it to Mallorca with you next March. of one of sport’s real hard men, physically robust and men-
Ramin Minovi tally very strong. ‘Inspiring’ is not a word that sceptics like
me use very often but for once I’m tempted – what the
The Greatest? hell, let’s go for it: this is an inspiring book.
Cancer is a hell of a way to be made a better person, but
Fausto Coppi: Jacques Augendre. Bromley 1999. 155 that’s what it seems to have done for Lance. ‘Too many
pages large format (12” x 10”). £29.95. ISBN 0-9531729- athletes live as though the problems of the world don’t
6-1 From Sport & Publicity, 0171-794-0915. concern them’, he concludes. Ain’t it the truth, though.
IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT a heavily-tanned, thin man is riding a Ramin Minovi
bicycle up a twisting road high in the mountains. In front a
man with a 16mm camera is filming him from a big open
car with ‘Cinesport’ painted side. More cars and motor- Shot-and-shell days
cycles follow, each carrying little plates inscribed ‘Tour de Ride and be Damned: Chas Messenger. Pedal Publishing
France 49’. You can see a kilometre, maybe two, down the 1998. 151 pages hardback, illustrated. From Pedal Pub-
mountain road. No other cyclist is in sight. lishing, 31 High Firs Crescent, Harpenden Herts AL5 1NB.
The rider is, of course, Fausto Coppi.The image could ISBN 9 780953 409600.
serve as an exemplar of everything his name evokes: high T HOSE WHO FAIL to learn the lessons of history are con-
mountains, easy dominance, media adulation, solitude. demned to repeat its mistakes. Racing was a part of cycling
There are a hundred and fourteen big pictures, some of from the beginning, but in the UK it attracted extraordi-
them across a double spread, 24” x 10”. Coppi at 17 after nary persecution by the police. Thus, while road racing
winning his first race; GP des Nations; getting a wheel flourished on the European mainland, in Britain it ceased.
change; climbing the Alps and Pyrenees; soaking his feet In 1937 the NCU and the RTTC formally agreed to outlaw
in the bidet; shaking hands with Gino Bartali, like a Borgia it for good.
Pope in a mechanic’s overall; and thousands of mourners Enter Percy Stallard, international roadman and road rac-
on a snow-covered January hillside at Castellania. The pic- ing fanatic. In 1940 he pointed out that with petrol ration-
tures are all black and white, of course – it’s what we ing and no traffic the time had never been riper for the
expect. Wasn’t everything in black and white then? Coppi birth of racing on the roads. Against screams of protest from
in colour? Oh, please. This is the ultimate in superlative the NCU, the RTTC (they banned him sine die) and the
Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 17
cycling press (with the honourable exception of The Bicy- races, often surviving on a knife-edge, via the Daily Ex-
cle), Stallard put on the first British open road race, press Tours of Britain, and, eventually, the Milk Race. You
th
Llangollen – Wolverhampton, on 7 June 1942, and Albert can see why people hanker for the shot-and-shell days,
Price won it. The BLRC came into being six months later. and remember the battles with desperate affection – never
In 1944 the NCU had 60,000 members, a figure which do we feel more alive than at the brink of the precipice.
reflects the huge base of cyclists at the time. Always under- You can see, too, why so many resented the birth of the
funded, the League, then with a mere 450, survived for 16 BCF in 1959 as the selling-down-the-river of their most
years. At times it seems to have been its own worst enemy. cherished principles. This story is what any monolithic body
Founding fathers and dedicated workers were thrown out, which seeks complete control has to remember – or learn,
reinstated, and thrown out again. While we owe a great if you’re too young.
debt to many of these pioneers, others behaved very badly Production values are a model of book design, in large
indeed. They were driven, apparently, by personal vanity, format (11” x 9”), all of it, text included, in a sort of green
self-aggrandisement, and a desire for power, on the part of sepia tint which suits those old photos perfectly. And there
individuals who valued themselves above the public good. are lots of them. Modern readers will be stunned by the
Sounds familiar? size of the crowds, even for modest local races.
Against this background the racing went from strength to Chas has produced a necessary account of a part of Brit-
strength, from single day events to a long series of stage ish cycling’s history which isn’t ended yet. Ray Minovi
On the Dole in Shakespeare country
‘I HAVE NO CHOICE,’ Hughie said, ‘I have to go to the cafe We draped our laundry round the iron stove and the hell
because I left my glasses there.’ These were the shades with the soot and coal dust. The stove didn’t seem to be
he’d paid £1.50 for at International Stock (fire-damaged, giving out its usual warmth, but the girls and the hot bread
mostly) in Kings Heath, South Birmingham. Only three miles pudding and custard made up for it. And under the coun-
after leaving the rendezvous we were already soaked to ter they had Hughie’s special sun-glasses. He greeted them
the skin. It’s thirty-five miles to the cafe, the way we go. as any Scotsman greets the return of a lost quid. The glasses
You can do it in twenty-four, but I knew there was no way smiled back enigmatically.
Hughie could be persuaded to take the short cut. The local probation officer looked in for lunch, with a
‘I’ll buy you some more,’ I said. ‘Just don’t make me feel client. Water began to pour down one wall. The client, a
guilty about letting you ride all the way to Evesham on grim-looking youth, offered to help. He claimed some skill
your own in this.’ in roofing. He looked skilled in highway robbery, and he
‘These are special glasses,’ he said. He emitted a dis- used technical terms like ‘flashing’ and ‘leaking’. Nobody
gusted cloud of spray. ‘They have sentimental value.’ made any jokes: coming from him the words took on sinis-
He said it in a special Glaswegian way, but I know per- ter rather than comic overtones. He demonstrated his roof-
fectly well that the loss of £1.50 would make any Scots- ing know-how by stuffing a rolled-up towel into the leak.
man sentimental.The others turned off through Henley. Water began to drip from the edge of the towel.
Lucky them. We went on through Wilmcote, past Mary I was still cold and damp, and I have never wanted to
Arden’s house. She was Shakespeare’s mother, but you al- leave anywhere less in my life, but we had to go. Strug-
ready knew that. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? gling back over the hills it was impossible to come to grips
Rumble thy bellyful, spit fire, spout rain. with the idea that home was still 24 miles away.
Struggling up the 1 in 6 climb of the Lenches on the 21, We descended to a flat stretch where, for two hundred
my woolly hat got so full of water that it fell over my eyes metres, the water was over the bottom bracket. Then fol-
by its own weight. I crossed the prime in complete dark- lows the drag up to the village of Inkberrow, allegedly the
ness. From there it was all downhill to the Craycombe Coun- original of Ambridge in The Archers. It would have been
try Tea Rooms above the Avon, and I could hold the hat up ‘an everyday story of fisher-folk’ if they’d seen this. Or a
with one hand. children’s epic about drowned rats. Water was streaming
On the wall of the converted barn there were more pic- off every field and finding its way via the flooded ditches
tures than ever. on to where the road had been. Everywhere cars were
‘Did you see the write-up we got in the Evesham Ga- stalled in flood water.
zette?’ Jane said. ‘Displaying the work of local artists. We We made the last 15 miles without falling, dying of ex-
could give up all this, feeding dripping cyclists, and open a posure, or drowning. There were only 68 miles on the
real gallery. Aren’t your feet cold?’ Avocet when I got back.
While I peeled off my overshoes and socks I looked at On the evening news a Midlands Today reporter inter-
the pictures. My bare feet were actually warmer on the viewed commuters from one of the low-lying villages ma-
flagstones. The overshoe that would keep out this deluge rooned on the hilltop, in the hotel next to Mary Arden’s
will never be invented. There were paintings of the Vale of house. You remember, Shakespeare’s mother. The televi-
Evesham, quaint stone bridges, black and white cottages, sion pictures showed the six feet of water that stopped them
traditional churches. In all of them the sun was shining reaching home, two miles away in the Alne valley.
from blue skies and fluffy white wisps of cloud. Outside ‘We were there today,’ I said to my wife. ‘We nipped
water fell solidly from a cloud ceiling of thirty feet. Inside down to Fladbury to get Hughie’s glasses.’
water fell in a steady drip from the ceiling. ‘You silly old fool,’ she said. ‘You must be mad.’
Page 18 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000
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Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000 Page 19
Coach Ray Minovi
IT’S A GOOD IDEA to repeat some basic training advice from work your heart-lung system hard, which is good. How-
time to time. After a couple of years there will be enough ever science has shown that cross-training doesn’t actually
new people who are coming to this stuff for the first time – improve your ability in your specialist sport. If you regard
and in any case ideas may have changed, at least a little yourself as a specialist racing cyclist, once the season starts
bit. So here goes: no apologies if you know all this already all your training should be on the bike, except for daily
– somewhere, somebody doesn’t. stretching and a few free exercises.
Training: general principles Differentiation
When you train hard you overload the various systems of You shouldn’t train always at the same level. If you always
your body with an effort that is just too much for it. The try as hard in training as you do in races, you’ll exhaust
heart has to beat very fast, the muscles fill up with lactic yourself and become chronically fatigued. On the other
acid, the muscles and liver give up their stored glucose to hand, if you always ride at a steady pace you’ll find it dif-
provide energy. When you rest and eat, the body begins to ficult to cope with sudden changes. If you always potter,
recover from this violent assault you made on it, and says then you won’t overload your system and the body won’t
to itself: ‘I mustn’t be caught out like that again – I must overcompensate: there’ll be no training response. Another
prepare for future efforts’. So it over-compensates for the reason for training at different levels is that your muscles
effort you made by building up muscle fibres, improving are made up of different types of fibres which are brought
the ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to carry into use at different intensities. Fast-twitch fibres are used
oxygenated blood, training itself to eliminate lactic acid, in sprinting, and ‘born’ sprinters start off with more of them,
taking on even more glucose for energy, and so on. So: but they tire quickly. Endurance riders need a higher pro-
Training should be planned portion of slow-twitch fibres. But you still have to train
Training should be progressive them, so each ride has to have a different purpose. The
Training should be specific intensity (how hard you try) and volume (the time you
Training should be differentiated spend) will differ. Long, steady rides will be the founda-
You must allow enough time for recovery. tion of endurance and will encourage the body to use its
fat reserves for energy. These will be done in the early part
Planning of the year, but you should include a longer ride say every
You need to know what you’re training for, so the first part ten days throughout the year.
of your planning is to decide on your goals for the season. Short, fast rides will overload the heart, lungs, and
What competitions do you want to take part in? what type? oxygen transport system and the body will make them
what duration? at what level? with what result? Will you be bigger and stronger. You will do one of these per week in
satisfied with setting personal bests or do you want to beat the off season, about 20 minutes. When you’ve got in
other people, i.e. win? Go through the calendar identify- the foundation, then you will do more shorter, fast rides,
ing your goals and pencilling in a competition programme. while at the same time you cut down on the long rides.
Don’t include too many events: many cyclists race far Intervals are very short, fast rides (1 - 2 minutes)
too often. You can only expect to be at your very best for repeated a number of times in a session without allowing
about four important events, so the other events should complete recovery. You’ll only benefit if you already have
have secondary aims. Write down your plan. When you’ve a good level of basic endurance fitness. Fairly short, very
got a fairly clear idea of what races you want to compete slow rides will be used for recovery – keeping the body
in, then you can develop a clear idea of how you should working very gently helps it to recover quicker than just
train in order to maximise your results in those events. sitting about, because it enhances blood flow in the
muscles. A road-racing cyclist will need a great deal of
Progression variety: long, hard steady stretches, climbs, sprinting,
If you went out every day and rode for three hours at 15 etc.
mph you’d get used to doing it and find it easy. But you
wouldn’t develop the ability to race at 25 mph, to acceler- Recover y
Recovery
ate rapidly, to maintain a strenuous effort for several min- It’s vital to allow enough time for recovery. Doing too
utes. As you get fitter your body gets more able to with- much day after day will result in fatigue, and you risk arriv-
stand strenuous efforts and therefore your training has to ing at the competition day tired out. Depending on the
get more demanding – either longer (increase in volume) intensity and volume of your training you’ll almost certainly
or faster (increase in intensity). Or, of course, both. need one or two days off each week. One way to organise
your training is to work on a four-day cycle: a day’s easy
Specific training, a day’s hard training, a longer ride, and then a
Some people think that all exercise of any type is good for day off. If you feel tired, don’t train. Always do a little bit
any athlete (cross training): according to this theory, cy- less rather than a little bit more. However, if your training
clists will benefit from running, swimming, rowing, skiing is organised properly, you shouldn’t need more than two
and so on. It’s a good idea to do other things from time to consecutive days off except in special circumstances (e.g.
time, especially in the off-season, to introduce variety and after a very hard stage race). Lastly, enjoy – we’re sup-
stop yourself getting mentally stale. Other activities will also posed to be doing this because we like it.
Page 20 Veteran Leaguer: Autumn 2000