Sunday, May 5, 2024

Tag: Race Programmes

The 1978 Crystal Palace Grand Prix

Have you been clearing out the loft, found an old race programme or finishing sheet and wondering what to do with it? Fire it off to VeloVeritas – we love the smell of the old paper, those names that we’d just about forgotten and remembering that British Cycling did actually exist before Sky came along. Kris, my Six Day boss sent me a photocopied sheet from the past the other day – it’s not the best print job but it’s just about readable; the Crystal Palace Grand Prix...

The 1962 Usher Silver Tankard Road Race

Usher Silver Tankard Nostalgia: “describes a sentimental longing for the past” defines the dictionary. I’m not one to sit and say that everything was better when I was a youngster – bikes certainly weren’t; much of the equipment available was scrap and would get laughed out of court in 2013. Cycling clothing was horrible and cycling shoes were positively medieval. Albeit cars were cooler, music was better and so was the cycling scene.

At Random

Austin Walsh’s Quay Cycles – a great collection of racing memorabilia

It was the Giro made Austin Walsh do it. Do what? Invest so much time and money into his collection of cycling memorabilia which now threatens to overwhelm his bike shop, Quay Cycles. The Italian race started on the Emerald Isle in 2014 and Austin was so smitten by ‘The Pink Race’ that he decided to turn the bike shop which he’s run since 1995 into a bike racing shrine...

Joe Truman – on Racing Japanese Keirin

Joe Truman is a highly successful track man with a raft of medals at National, Commonwealth and European levels across Sprint, Team Sprint, Kilometre and Keirin disciplines and he very kindly gave his memories of his days in the highly specialised and fascinating world of Japanese Keirin racing.

The “Flemish Strawberrycross”

Ed Hood was in Belgium last weekend for the Gent Six Day to see the farewell to ‘t Kuipke Keizer’ Iljo Keisse and when in Belgium in November you have to go to a cyclo-cross, so Ed and his pals visited the Telenet Superprestige Merksplas, the "Flemish Strawberrycross".

World Road Championships 2006 – Day 1: Getting there

Off to the World Road Championships 2006. It was a 04.00 alarm job to get ready to leave at 06.00 and I hadn't had time to pack the night before. It's always the same driving to Prestwick-you think you are making great time until you get to Stepps and the vast car park that is the M8 during the rush-hour. Check-in at Prestwick wasn't too bad but the Colgate had to go-I wouldn't mind but it drives me crazy not knowing how to convert it into an explosive device.

Gordon Johnson – 1970 World Pro Sprint Champion

If we asked 'who is the current World Sprint Champion?' back in 1970 few would have had any hesitancy in saying that the amateur champion was legendary Frenchman Daniel Morelon and the Professional Sprint king was Aussie, Gordon Johnson, mounted on a British-made Carlton.

Berlin Six Day 2012 – Day Two

I’d forgotten the raw horror of a Frank Zander gig; ‘If I Had a Hammer’ was blasting out at around 11:00 pm and it occurred to me that if you’re a bad musician then Germany and the Berlin Six Day 2012 is the place to be.