The year of our Lord 1977; Dave and I were on our way back from Crystal Palace, London and the ‘Felice Gimondi Meeting.’
Famous boxing promoter, the late Mike Barrett decided cycling was worth exploring, bringing Eddy Merckx to London’s Eastway circuit in June 1977 and the Italian over in April 1978 to ‘The Palace.’
We went down to both races and on the way back from ‘The Palace’ on the Sunday stopped off in the north of England to watch the English pros in action at the Lancaster Grand Prix.
Sitting in rare north of England spring sunshine to watch the race we were surprised and excited when Falcon pro, Nigel Dean chose our patch of grass to call it a day and sit and happily chat away to us for an age.
It’s taken a while to catch up with him again, all the way from Harare in Zimbabwe…
National Junior Road Race Champion in 1965 after being second the year before – your memories of those rides, sir?
“It was a great feeling.
“I rode away from everyone on the Cleeves Hill Circuit near Ormskirk.
“I was really upset the year before when Gerry Waterhouse (of ALL people) outsprinted me for the title near Otley in Yorkshire.”
Season 1970 was a huge for you, a ‘breakthrough’. Why that year?
“It wasn’t the breakthrough year.
“The 1966 season was poor, my first as a senior.
“I only had one win but went to the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica and came fourth in the 10-mile on the track.
“I was in the break in the road race which was held in terrible conditions and a Scottish rider fell off in front of me and we went down. [Billy Bilsland was the only Scottish rider in the ’66 Games Road Race to finish, in 9th place. ed.]
“Luckily, for the Isle of Man, the late Peter Buckley went on to win for us.
“I was much more serious in 1967 and won quite a few races and Merseyside Divisional titles with Liverpool’s famous Kirkby Cycling Club.
“The club then included notable stars such as Billy Whiteside, Doug Dailey, Graham Owen and I was helped greatly by the late Eddie Soens who coached lots of riders in the club.
“The following year, 1968, I went to live and race in Brittany for the VC Loudacien (Loudeac – half-way between St Brieuc and Vannes.
“I won a couple of races but also had some awesome moments as a 20-year-old amateur. I was “hors categorie” so I raced against pros quite a few times.
“In one race, I was in the break with Altig and Anquetil. The highlight of the day was when Anquetil told me: “Slow down Englishman, you’re going too hard“.
“Well, thought I’d got them, didn’t I? Until 30kms later I cramped up and fell into the hedge in agony!
“I went back to the Isle of Man in late August and returned to work for the Isle of Man Newspapers group and became editor of The Green Final – Saturday Sports paper.
“I then got married in November but couldn’t stay away from the bike and rode local events and got reasonably fit.
“In September 1969, my son Jason was born.
“We were renting a house in Onchan and wanted to buy it. There were no building societies in the Isle of Man and you had find a private mortgage. The owner offered us one and the repayments came to £14 a week.
“My salary was only £15.
“So I moved to Liverpool after getting a job on the Chorley Guardian at £22 a week. I stayed in Liverpool with fellow Kirkby rider, Dave Mitchell and his dad in 1970 until we bought a house in Ormskirk six months later.
“The repayments were £28 month so that soon led to the contract the following year with Falcon…”
So how did the contract with Falcon in 1971 come about?
“It was really strange; I should have been a pro for them back in 1966…
“Ernie Clements offered me a contract but my wife’s uncle, Curwen Clague (who was my editor at IOM newspapers and who organised Manx Cycling Week for years and years) told the BCF not to allow it because he wanted me in the Commonwealth Games team in Jamaica!
“I had a very good year in 1970 and was then offered a contract by Falcon.
“It was a wonderful team including Albert Hitchen, Dave Mitchell, Reg Barnett, Mick Holmes and the late Danny Horton.
“The contract was for £3.50 a week for 32 weeks, but there was a bonus for the team of £100 if we had a win – and we had plenty.
“The biggest thing was I didn’t have to buy my own bike, tyres, racing kit, etc.
“And we rode the Tour of Switzerland that year too.”
The UK pro scene, what was it like gaining acceptance?
“The riders were generally accepting of new pros.
“A few weren’t but if you took them to the cleaners a few times they came to acknowledge your ability.”
Holdsworth in ’73 – a legendary team, how did that come to pass and what was it like to ride for?
“At the end of 1971, shortly after the team came back from the Tour de la Nouvelle France in Canada, I accepted the position as sales manager for Falcon Cycles. It didn’t really work out though and we moved from Humberside to Harrogate where I went back into journalism for ICI Fibres Post.
“I started playing rugby again but I really missed the cycling scene. I was always great mates with Sid Barras and others living in Yorkshire.
“While working at Falcon Cycles my weight had rocketed from 11 to 15 stone plus so after work, in the middle of winter, I would go out on my bike for hours by myself trying to shed the fat.
“Hugh Porter nicknamed me Tojo (after the enormous heavyweight wrestler Tojo Yamamoto who was a star at the time), so 1972 was a write-off really.
“I left ICI and went to work on the Southport Visitor but was saved when my old mate, Mike Daniell (who I had worked with on Cycling magazine in 1966. Mike was the assistant editor there to Alan Gayfer) offered me a job on the Herts Ad newspaper in St Albans as a sub-editor.
“Mike and his wife Jean had been good enough to have me as a lodger in Welwyn Garden City when I worked for Cycling. We used to do a two-up time-trial into Fleet Street and back every day.
“Anyway, I used to ride a two hour loop to work and back every day, although only lived a few miles away in Harpenden.
“Then I started racing again in 1973 – unsponsored.
“I did a good ride in Folkestone-London and the Cycling headline was: ‘DEAN WON’T BE OUT OF WORK FOR LONG’. Roy Thame signed me up for Holdsworth a week later.”
Were you a ‘full time’ professional or did you have to have a job?
“I always worked.
“As a journalist until 1976 when I bought a bike shop from Stan Miles, who was the 1936 Best British All Rounder time trial rider.
“Quite strange how that came about, but that’s another story.
“I continued to combine racing with the shop which was run by my wife, Roberta, when I was racing.
“But it was the same story for training; a two hour loop to work and two hour hours back, 12 months of the year.”
You had another huge season in ’75, why?
“I think it was just natural progression, and we had a great team at Holdsworth; Les West, Colin Lewis, Geoff Wiles, Gary Crewe, Keith Lambert and Darryl Brassington.”
You were second in the Circuit of the Port of Dunkirk to Patrick Sercu that year. What are your remembrances of that day?
“That the cheeky Belgian pipped me on the line in a sprint from a large break.
“Marc Demeyer (winner of Paris-Roubaix) was third, I remember.”
Season 1976 is blank on the palmarès sites?
“That was the year I started Nigel Dean Cycles, it must have been because of that.”
Barnett Edwards on the jersey for ’77, tell us about that team.
“‘Barnett’ was the great sprinter and my best mate, Reg.
“We were a two-man team sponsored by his bike shop.
“Great fun…”
Then you went back to Falcon in ’78?
“Yup, the Falcon boss, Ernie Clements called me back.”
A ride which caught my eye in Season ’80, third to Marc Demeyer at Roselare…
“Yes, that was interesting.
“I had been staying in Gent training for the London Six by riding the kermises.
“Roselare was on way to the ship to go back to UK, so I took in that race on the way.
“Marc bought everyone off to let him go and win alone (it was the custom then in a lot of Belgium races).
“When we came to the sprint the other guys were all busy talking about something so I easily grabbed the runner-up spot in the sprint.
“I found out shortly after the finish that there was a doping control and that’s what everyone was talking about – and why they let me go.
‘But the control guys said they wanted first, third and fourth for testing – they said they knew an Englishman wouldn’t be involved and, besides, I had to catch the boat.”
Season ’81 and a win in the season long UK Prestige Pernod competition, another big year.
“That was a great year. I was with Coventry-Eagle and involved with Ernie Clements again.
“There was Sid Barras, Mick Bennett and I… there was lots of prize-money in our team that year.
“And I met the latest French superstar; I’ve still got the photo somewhere of Bernard Hinault and I getting our trophies from Pernod in Paris.”
Also in ’81 we saw you second to Bill Nickson in the National Road Race Champs…