Saturday, November 2, 2024

Steele Bishop – 1983 Pursuit World Champion

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HomeInterviewsSteele Bishop - 1983 Pursuit World Champion

The pursuit race is the ultimate battle of man against the clock and, in the end, man against man. Once upon the time the pursuit champion was the king of the boards and everyone would know his name. Australian Steele Bishop was one of those men of the ’80s.

Steele Bishop
1983 Worlds Lap of Honor. Photo©Steele Bishop

When I first got ‘into’ cycling, back in 1970, if the World Professional Road Race Champion wasn’t riding but the World Professional Pursuit Champion was, then the track man was entitled, nay, duty bound to wear his rainbow jersey – that’s how important the title was.

Things have changed, since 1993 the championships have been ‘open’ so there’s now no distinction between amateurs and professionals, all ride the 4,000 meter distance. Before then the Pros rode 5,000 meters. No longer do the big road stars and real specialists who used the title as a big bucks calling card into the Six Days line up for the pursuit.

The late 60’s up to the mid 70’s was the time of Great Britain’s Hugh Porter and Belgium’s Ferdi Bracke rivalry; with the rest of the 70’s seeing big power houses like Dutchmen, Roy Schuiten and Bert Oosterbosch, Germany’s Gregor Braun and Italy’s Francesco Moser lift the title. The 80’s was the period of another British pursuiter, Tony Doyle’s rivalry with Danish perfectionist, Hans Henrik Oersted. They were the ‘big two’ in the event for much of the decade.

But in 1983, a name appeared on the roll of honor which had results anoraks like me scratching our heads, Steele Bishop of Australia. But if we’d studied the pursuit results from previous years closely then we’d have known that this was the big Australian rider’s third serious Worlds campaign and on both previous occasions he’d made the last eight.

In 1983 he thought he’d retired but circumstances put him on a plane to Zurich with the thoughts firmly in his mind that this would be his last ‘Worlds’ and only gold would be good enough.

Steele Bishop
1983 Worlds Winning Moment. Photo©Steele Bishop

You rode the 1972 Olympics, it was 1983 when you won the Worlds – that’s a long while, Steele?

“I was the youngest cyclist at those Games in Munich at 19 years-of-age; I’d actually set my sights on Olympic selection for 1976 but we’d achieved a qualifying time – despite the crap bike that I was riding – in the team pursuit so the Federation decided to send a team.

“I’d moved from West Australia to Melbourne which was Aussie Cycling ‘Heartland’ where the best riders were so as I could train and compete at a higher level.

“When I look back, my aim was to represent Australia, not actually win anything.”

Steele Bishop
1984 road action. Photo©Steele Bishop

You rode the ’73 amateur Worlds in San Sebastian too?

“I was 20 years-old and headed off to The Netherlands to race and prepare for the Worlds. I was riding the criteriums three times each week and making the top 20, that brought in around $150 dollars; back in Australia the average wage was about $90/week and if you won a race you’d get a $20 money order to a bike shop.

“I was really looking forward to the Worlds and was psyched up for it but when I got down there the first event on the program was the amateur pursuit qualifying.

“And I was first starter, on the track on my own against the watch…

“I had been offered a contract with the Peugeot-Michelin amateur team in The Netherlands for the 1974 season but had to return to Australia due to my visa situation.

“I’d realized my goals in representing Australia at the Olympics and Worlds but hadn’t set myself a goal to be on the podium – there wasn’t enough input on the mental aspect.”

Steele Bishop
Winding down after braking six minute pursuit barrier. Photo©Steele Bishop

Then you turned professional back home?

“I quit the sport but then came back as a pro four months later, it was the money that lured me back to the sport.

“Each year I’d win one or two national titles; a total of 13 with eight pursuit titles. In that time I took the national 5,000 meters record from 6:25 down to 5:51.

“But it wasn’t until one year when my coach, Ken Benson said to me; ‘you know Steele, if you’d ridden five seconds faster over the five kilometers you could have won the Worlds?’ I’d ridden 6:07 and the Worlds was won with a 6:02.

“Ken’s words took me back to when I was 13 years-old, sitting on the step of my house reading the results of the Tour de France in the Saturday morning newspaper and dreaming that I wanted to be the best in the world one day.

“Ken ignited that boyhood dream which now turned into my goal. I decided to set that as my goal, adopt a ‘can do’ attitude and frame a strategy.

“I put a team together – my cycling coach, a physical coach for the swimming pool and gym, a dietician, a mental coach, a mechanic and masseur with my wife as manager.

“I also had a chiropractor to deal with my bad back, they worked with me through four national pursuit titles and my three Worlds campaigns.

“But whilst I had a mechanic, I’d check every bolt on the bike before each ride, and the tires too – the ultimate responsibility was mine.”

Steele Bishop
Steele’s world championship bike at the WA Museum store. Photo©Steele Bishop

Brno, Czechoslovakia 1981 was your first pro Worlds?

“As part of my build up I rode some of the post-Tour criteriums with the big names – that was a fantastic experience.

“To do specific preparation for the Worlds I went to Switzerland but I went down with bronchitis.

“My nutritionist took me down to the hospital and they gave me a huge shot of vitamin C and I came good within a week.

“But then on the train on the way to the championships I went down with bronchitis again.

“I qualified sixth fastest but Oosterbosch beat me in the next round – Alain Bondue of France took the title.”

Then it was rainy Leicester, England in ’82 for the Worlds.

“Yeah, the weather was terrible for training, what I should have done was to take the plane to Switzerland where the weather was much better.

“I was up against England’s Sean Yates in the quarters and the noise of the cheering for Yates was deafening; he was up on me all the way buy I came late and beat him – you could have heard a pin drop!

“But I went out to Oersted in the next round – I was devastated… Bondue beat Oersted in the final.”

Steele Bishop
1984 Victoria Park Criterium with Phil Thomas GB. Photo©Steele Bishop

Your road to Zurich and gold had a departure point you didn’t expect

“For two-and-a-half years, seven days a week I’d tried to win the Worlds but couldn’t do it; I decided to ride the National Champs then that would be me finished.

“After the Nationals there was a ceremony for what they called the ‘Oppy Oscars’for the best ride by an Australian that year [Sir Hubert Opperman was a legendary cyclist from the 1930’s who rode the Tour de France and set many long distance records, ed.] and I won for my taking the national five kilometers record below six minutes for the first time.

“The prize was a plane ticket to the Worlds in Zurich. Shit!

“I took two weeks off and decided to give it one more go. I put my team back together and we traveled to Switzerland.

“I arrived in Europe 10 weeks before the champs and prepared by riding track meets, 15 Coca-Cola criteriums in Germany and three Kellogg’s town centre criteriums in England.

“I qualified fasted in 5:51:55 with home rider and 1980 Olympic Champion, Robert Dill-Bundi second fastest with 5:57:53.

“The reigning champion, Alain Bondue of France had withdrawn so there were only seven starters, this meant they went straight to the semis with no quarters.

“Bondue said he fell off his bike going back to the hotel and broke his wrist. I found out later that the only thing broken was his spirit, when he saw the time I rode, apparently he didn’t have great form that year.

“In the semis I beat Doyle 5:53 to 5:59 and Dill-Bundi 5:58 beat Oersted by 19/100ths. So it was Dill-Bundi and me in the final.”

1983 Worlds Lap of Honour. Photo©Steele Bishop

I read you had a couple of visitors before the final?

“When I was a young cyclist, for years I had a picture on my wall of the Aussie rider, Philip Bristow-Stagg on my bedroom wall, he was silver medalist in the Commonwealth Games Kilometer Championship in Jamaica in 1966.

“I was on the massage table when we heard the door knock.

“This small guy with a beard walked in, he didn’t look like a bike rider and he said; ‘I was in Belgium on business and read you’d reached the final so came down to see you win, my name is Phil Bristow-Stagg.’ 

“I still get goose bumps when I tell that story, as it shows the power of the written goal or putting a picture up of something you want. 

“Then there was another knock, it was Dill-Bundi.

“We’d been training together so I knew him well. He sat on the end of the table and said; ‘Steele, tomorrow you head back to Australia but I must win because I need that rainbow jersey to get contracts for the Six Days, this winter.’ I just replied; ‘Robert, I m