Page 23 - PBCOctober2018

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 15 No.2 October 2018 @23

The British League of Racing Cyclists
& The National Cyclists Union

After the 1932 Olympic Games cycle road race which was run as a time trial, it was
announced that in future it would be a massed start event. However the British authorities
the NCU, had banned all ‘open’ road racing since the end of the 19 Century-concerned that
th
the police would simply ban all cyclists from the roads. In 1894 there was a timed race on
the Gt North Road-a race of about 50 riders competed along with pacers — and around 60
miles from London, they passed a woman in a horse & carriage, whereupon the horse
panicked, some riders fell off and the woman complained to the police, who indeed banned
all cycle racing on the road.

At the time, the NCU controlled both road racing and track racing, and directed that its
clubs should move all races off road onto tracks. The early form of velodromes. They also
licensed riders to compete in road events abroad, but the riders argued the need for
comparable condition races, so these had to be held on airfields and motor racing circuits.
Percy Stallard was a competitive cycle racer and had been competing for GB in international
races during the 30’s, and had ridden the World Championships in 1933-34-35. Stallard was
concerned that the NCU ruling restricted riders from learning how to ride massed start
events on open roads. By 1941 with petrol rationing and very few cars on the road, Stallard
complained to the NCU, that the UK was the only country in Europe where such cycle races
were not permitted on open roads. They ignored him. So he decided to organise a 59mile
event from Llangollen to Wolverhampton (his home town), with sponsorship from the
Wolverhampton Express newspaper. He asked the NCU & RTTC not to suspend the
participants. There was strong opposition both, and all the cycling establishments, and they
banned Stallard before the race began. The race still went ahead, with the consent of the
Chief Constables of Denbighshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Wolverhampton. Some 34
riders including several Dutchmen took part and finished in front of a big crowd lining the
streets of Wolverhampton on the Sunday afternoon, with police controlling the crowds.

There was even a police motor-bike leading the riders through the streets to the finish.
George Herbert Stancer speaking on behalf of the NCU and RTTC explained that the race
had been banned by both organisations, and although there had been no incidents, all the
riders and others involved were expelled from the NCU, and Stallard was banned for life.
Stallard did not give up – stating that he thought the NCU would accept the point that the
race had been a success and it was all above board. And since the police had never seen
such a race he convinced them that this type of racing was normal on the continent.
Subsequently further races were organised by regional groups.