Austral Wheel Race
Encyclopedia
| Austral Wheel Race | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Established | 1887 |
| Held | February |
| Country | Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
| Region | Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
| Type | Handicap race over 2000 m |
| Data | |
| Editions | 110 110 (number) 110 is the natural number following 109 and preceding 111.It is also known as "eleventy", a term made famous by linguist and author J. R. R... |
| First Winner | H. Lambton, AUS Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
| Most Recent | Luke Ockerby Luke Ockerby Luke 'Thomas' Ockerby is an Australian cyclist from Ulverstone Tasmania born on the 17th of May 1992 . Ockerby has so far won four Australian Junior Championships and many regional and interstate wheel races including the 2008 Devonport mens Wheel Race , 2009 Mersey Wheel Race and the prestigious... , AUS Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
| Most Wins | Stephen Pate, AUS Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... , (4) |
The Austral Wheel Race is the oldest track bicycle race
Track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
in the world still existing, stretching back to 1887. The Austral race is Australia’s greatest track cycling event. It is held in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, riders assigned handicaps according to ability over a series of heats. The finals are run over 2000m.
The races in 2004 and 2005 were at Vodafone Arena in February. The first race in 1887 held at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
over 3 miles (4800m), with first prize of a grand piano valued at 200 pounds. Other venues in Melbourne to host the race include the Exhibition Track, the North Essendon board track
Board track racing
Board track, or motordrome, racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States between the second and third decades of the 20th century. Competition was conducted on oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks...
, the Olympic Park
Olympic Park, Melbourne
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct is a series of sports venues and stadia, located in Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. The precinct is situated around 3 km east of the Melbourne city centre, between the suburbs of East Melbourne and Richmond, and close to the north-eastern bank of...
Velodrome and the Brunswick
Brunswick, Victoria
Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...
, Coburg
Coburg, Victoria
Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland, although a handful of properties on Coburg's Eastern boundary are located in the City of Darebin...
and Northcote
Northcote, Victoria
Northcote is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin...
velodromes.
Malvern Star
Malvern Star
Malvern Star is a manufacturer of bicycles, located in Melbourne, Australia. It began in 1902, and went on to become a household name in Australia.-History:Malvern Star opened in a small shop at 58 Glenferrie Rd, in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern in 1902...
, a brand in bicycles in Australia, had its origins in the race. In December 1898 a young bicycle mechanic and professional cyclist, Tom Finnigan, won from a handicap of 220 yards (201.2 m) holding off backmarkers with a foot to spare. The prize of 240 sovereigns let him establish a suburban bicycle shop, Malvern Star Cycles, which became a household name under Bruce Small
Bruce Small
Sir Andrew Bruce Small was an Australian businessman and politician. In Melbourne, he developed Malvern Star bicycles into a household name in Australia, then retired to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he developed property, and as Mayor of the Gold Coast, promoted the area to Australia and the...
.
Corruption tinged the event in 1901 when the American, "Plugger" Bill Martin, won from scratch, to allegations of fixing by John Wren
John Wren
John Wren was an Australian businessman. He has become a legendary figure thanks mainly to a fictionalised account of his life in Frank Hardy's novel Power Without Glory, which was also made into a television series...
. According to The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
in 1903n referring to 1902 "one of the judges appointed to officiate at the Austral Wheel meeting was called upon to resign, because he had a monetary interest in the result of the Austral Wheel Race."
In February 2005 Ben Kersten won from scratch in a time of 2min 06.10 sec, an average of 57.09 km/h.
Prize money
Prize money has varied, following the fashion for cycling, from a grand piano to monetary prizes of 240 sovereigns in 1898, 1,050 in 1902, to a low of $1500 during the 1970s, increasing to $5,000 in 1982, and now exceeding $18,000 since 2000.Past winners
Past competitors include distinguished Australian and international cyclists, including Gordon Johnson, Steele BishopSteele Bishop
Steele Bishop is a former track racing cyclist and World Champion.-Biography:Bishop was born 1953 in Subiaco, Western Australia....
, Sid Patterson
Sid Patterson
Sid Patterson was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australian title between 1,000 metres and ten miles...
, Russell Mockridge
Russell Mockridge
Russell Mockridge was a racing cyclist from Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus....
, Danny Clarke
Daniel Clark (cyclist)
Daniel "Danny" Clark OAM is a retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer from Australia, who was a professional rider from 1974 to 1997...
, Brett Aitken
Brett Aitken
Brett Aitken is an Australian Olympic track cyclist. He has won a bronze, a silver, and a gold medal for his nation. He won gold in the Madison event at the 2000 Olympics. He retired from cycling in 2004, but returned in 2006 to ride on the Oceania Tour.-References:...
, Gary Neiwand
Gary Neiwand
Gary Neiwand is a retired Australian track cyclist, a former world champion, who won four Olympic medals during his career.-Early life and career:...
and Shane Kelly
Shane Kelly
Shane John Kelly OAM is a former professional Australian track racing cyclist. Kelly specialized in the men's 1000 m time trial, commonly known as the Kilo. Kelly announced his retirement from international competition at the end of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics...
. The record for the most wins belongs to Victorian Stephen Pate
Stephen Pate
Stephen Pate is an internationally competitive cyclist and former Olympian. After turning pro in 1986, Pate won three world pro medals and set as many world pro records for 200m, 500m, and 1 km. In 1991, he won a bronze medal at the World Professional Championship at Stuttgart...
with four victories: in 1988 from scratch, in 1991 from 10m, in 1993 from 20m and 1999 from scratch.
In 2000, Neiwand was handicapped on 70m for the millennium edition and won comfortably.
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="margin:0.5em;"
!colspan="3" align=center bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Austral Wheel Race Winners
|-
!Year !!Winner !!Handicap
|-
| 1887 || H. Lambton || 210 yd (192 m)
|-
| 1888 || Dick Davis || Scr
|-
| 1889 || J. Mullins || 140 yd (128 m)
|-
| 1890 || Tom Busst || Scr.
|-
| 1891 || Arthur Turner || 240 yd (219.5 m)
|-
| 1892 || H. Lambton || 200 yd (182.9 m)
|-
| 1893 || Gordon Woodward || 270 yd (246.9 m)
|-
| 1894 || Alf Middleton || 180 yd (164.6 m)
|-
| 1895 || A. Crisp || 250 yd (228.6 m)
|-
| 1896 || Charles Kellow || 15 yd (13.7 m)
|-
| 1897 || Jim Carpenter || 85 yd (77.7 m)
|-
| 1898 || Tom Finnigan || 220 yd (201.2 m)
|-
| 1899 || Frank Beauchamp || 150 yd (137.2 m)
|-
| 1900 || Charles Forbes || 30 yd (27.4 m)
|-
| 1901 || Bill Martin || Scr
|-
| 1902 || Murray Auger || 240 yd (219.5 m)
|-
| 1903 || Fred Scheps || 160 yd (146.3 m)
|-
| 1904 || Jack Clarke || 150 yd (137.2 m)
|-
| 1905 || J. Sandberg || 170 yd (155.4 m)
|-
| 1906 || Harry Thomas || 20 yd (18.3 m)
|-
| 1907 || A.C. Colvin || 60 yd (54.9 m)
|-
| 1908 || M. McPherson || 150 yd (137.2 m)
|-
| 1909 || A. H. Piano || 40 yd (36.6 m)
|-
| 1910 || Frank Corry || 140 yd (128 m)
|-
| 1912 || W. Priestly || 60 yd (54.9 m)
|-
| 1913 || P.B. Henry || 60 yd (54.9 m)
|-
| 1920 || Ern. Tamme || 50 yd (45.7 m)
|-
| 1921 || Lou Clifford || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1922 || Jack Fitzgerald || Scr
|-
| 1923 || Dick Ford || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1923 || Pidge Davis || 200 yd (182.9 m)
|-
| 1925 || Frank Corry || 140 yd (128 m)
|-
| 1925 || Eric Giboud || 60 yd (54.9 m)
|-
| 1927 || Bowie Stevens || 70 yd (64 m)
|-
| 1927 || Cecil Hannerman || 160 yd (146.3 m)
|-
| 1927 || Cecil Manners || 245 yd (224 m)
|-
| 1929 || H. "Fatty" Lamb || 30 yd (27.4 m)
|-
| 1936 || Keith Thurgood || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1936 || Harry Webb || 70 yd (64 m)
|-
| 1937 || Jack Gardiner || 205 yd (187.5 m)
|-
| 1938 || Jack Middleton || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1939 || Clinton Beasley || 90 yd (82.3 m)
|-
| 1940 || Norm Stevens || 20 yd (18.3 m)
|-
| 1941 || Ken Stewart || 60 yd (54.9 m)
|-
| 1942 || Mick Bradley || 160 yd (146.3 m)
|-
| 1944 || Norm Munro || 90 yd (82.3 m)
|-
| 1944 || Tas. Johnson || 30 yd (27.4 m)
|-
| 1945 || Tom Shillito || 160 yd (146.3 m)
|-
| 1946 || Pat Devine || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1947 || George Bull || 130 yd (118.9 m)
|-
| 1948 || Bill Kirkham || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1950 || Byron Bonney || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1951 || Kevin Marion || 105 yd (96 m)
|-
| 1952 || Doug Jennings || 120 yd (109.7 m)
|-
| 1953 || Tom Fitzgerald || 140 yd (128 m)
|-
| 1954 || Alan Geddes || 130 yd (118.9 m)
|-
| 1955 || Ron Murray || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1956 || Don Meharg || 130 yd (118.9 m)
|-
| 1957 || John Robertson || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1958 || Neil Geraghty || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1959 || Vin Beasley || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1960 || David Good || 100 yd (91.4 m)
|-
| 1961 || Fred Roche || 40 yd (36.6 m)
|-
| 1962 || Sid Patterson
Sid Patterson
Sid Patterson was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australian title between 1,000 metres and ten miles...
|| Scr.
|-
| 1963 || Fred Hellyer || 110 yd (100.6 m)
|-
| 1964 || Sid Patterson || Scr.
|-
| 1965 || Kenton Smith || 135 yd (123.4 m)
|-
| 1966 || Bill Dove || 150 yd (137.2 m)
|-
| 1967 || Vic Browne || 65 yd (59.4 m)
|-
| 1968 || Merv. Andrea || 230 yd (210.3 m)
|-
| 1969 || Charlie Walsh
Charlie Walsh
David Barry Vivian Walsh, better known just as Charlie Walsh, was the national coach for the Australian Cycling Federation at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1980 to 2001. He oversaw Australia's rise from between 20th and 30th in world track cycling to number one in 1993 and 1994...
|| 50 yd (45.7 m)
|-
| 1970 || Bill Stevens || 35 yd (32 m)
|-
| 1971 || Frank Daly || 135 yd (123.4 m)
|-
| 1972 || Geoff Edmonds || 20 yd (18.3 m)
|-
| 1973 || Gordon Johnson || Scr.
|-
| 1974 || Ivan Collings || 90 yd (82.3 m)
|-
| 1975 || Craig Price || 130 yd (118.9 m)
|-
| 1976 || David Allan || 70 yd (64 m)
|-
| 1977 || Danny Clark || Scr.
|-
| 1978 || David Sanders || 50 m
|-
| 1979 || Laurie Venn || Scr.
|-
| 1980 || Daryl Benson || 90 m
|-
| 1981 || Laurie Venn || Scr.
|-
| 1982 || Steele Bishop
Steele Bishop
Steele Bishop is a former track racing cyclist and World Champion.-Biography:Bishop was born 1953 in Subiaco, Western Australia....
|| Scr.
|-
| 1983 || Phil. Sawyer || Scr.
|-
| 1984 || Terry Schintler || 80 m
|-
| 1985 || Allan Rackstraw || 80 m
|-
| 1986 || Danny Clark || Scr.
|-
| 1987 || Simon King || 110 m
|-
| 1988 || Stephen Pate || Scr.
|-
| 1989 || Grant Reynolds || 150 m
|-
| 1990 || Danny Clark || Scr.
|-
| 1991 || Stephen Pate || Minus 10 m
|-
| 1992 || Bert Glennon || 120 m
|-
| 1993 || Stephen Pate || Minus 20 m
|-
| 1994 || Ashley Harding || 140 m
|-
| 1995 || Tony Hughes || 80 m
|-
| 1996 || Troy Clarke || 45 m
|-
| 1997 || Matthew Atkins || 100 m
|-
| 1998 || Shane Hodskiss || 75 m
|-
| 1999 || Stephen Pate || Scr.
|-
| 2000 || Gary Neiwand
Gary Neiwand
Gary Neiwand is a retired Australian track cyclist, a former world champion, who won four Olympic medals during his career.-Early life and career:...
|| 70 m
|-
| 2001 || Mark French
Mark French
Mark French is a retired Australian sprint cyclist. He started cycling competitively relatively late at the age of 15, in 1999...
|| 80 m
|-
| 2002 || Darren Young ||
|-
| 2003 || Darren Young ||
|-
| 2004 || Zak Dempster ||
|-
| 2005 || Ben Kersten
Ben Kersten
Ben Kersten is an Australian professional racing cyclist. He is a member of the Fly V Australia Pro Cycling Team....
|| Scr.
|-
| 2006 || Dean Taylor || 130 m
|-
| 2007 || Joel Stewart || 110m
|-
| 2008 || Jackson-Leigh Rathbone || 40 m
|-
| 2009 || Ben Sanders || 80m
|-
| 2011 || Luke Ockerby
Luke Ockerby
Luke 'Thomas' Ockerby is an Australian cyclist from Ulverstone Tasmania born on the 17th of May 1992 . Ockerby has so far won four Australian Junior Championships and many regional and interstate wheel races including the 2008 Devonport mens Wheel Race , 2009 Mersey Wheel Race and the prestigious...
|| 40m
|-