Charles Holland (cyclist)
Encyclopedia
Charles Holland was a British road bicycle racer. He was one of the first two Britons
to ride the Tour de France
.
, a brown-eyed, black-haired man who excelled at sport from his youth. He played cricket for a local side which included V. E. Milne (sportsmen often used only their initials in those days), who also played cricket for Scotland
and soccer for Aston Villa
. Holland hoped to play cricket
for Warwickshire
and he had a soccer trial for Aston Villa.
His father belonged to Walsall Polytechnic Cycling Club
, and held the Walsall
–Matlock record. Holland's first bike was a 24in-wheel bicycle
his father bought for his eldest brother, Walter, and which was handed down the family when it became too small. At 12 he went on his first cycle tour, to the Liverpool
area, with his father. In 1927 he rode his first race, the Wyndham Novices 25-mile individual time trial
. Using his brother Walter's bike, he came second in 1h 10min. His first victory was on 1 April 1928 in the Walsall Roads Club 10-mile event
That year, Holland joined the Midland Cycling and Athletic Club. He tried track racing, but with less success than on the road. Riding a bicycle with a fixed wheel and no brakes is difficult but to do it shoulder-to-shoulder with other riders and on a curved grass track proved defying. He rode a sports day run by Metropolitan Carriage Works of Birmingham around a cricket ground in Washwood Heath. Everyone passed him in his first event, a handicap, and then again in the half-mile as those he passed in the straight raced by on the bends, where Holland couldn't control his bike sufficiently.
was the last to be held as a time trial, a lone race against the watch over 100 km. For Britain
, which since the 19th century had had nothing but timed races on the road, that made selection simpler. On the other hand, the British Olympic Committee decided, because of the cost of getting to Los Angeles that "no competitor who is unlikely to reach the semi-final or final of his event shall be taken... and that only the absolutely necessary officials shall be taken".
Holland was picked to ride with Frank Southall
, Bill Harvell, Stan Butler and Ernie Johnson. They sailed from Southampton
aboard the Empress of Britain
.
The winner of the road race was Attilo Pavesi of Italy
. Southall finished sixth, Holland 15th, Butler 16th, Harvell 19th. The Great Britain
team came fourth overall. Butler did not ride because he had fallen on tram
lines during a stop in Toronto
and been hit by a car.
Holland was also picked to ride on the track, in the team pursuit
with Southall, Harvell, Johnson and Holland. The Italians - Marco Cimatti, Paolo Pedretti, Alberto Ghilardi and Nino Borsari - won again, with 4min 53sec, having set an Olympic record of 4min 52.9sec in the heats. France
was second in 4min 55.7sec. and Britain third in 4min 56sec.
in 1934, to ride with Percy Stallard
and Fred Ghilks. Their accompanying official from the National Cyclists' Union
was from Herne Hill
velodrome
in south London
and knew little of road-racing.
The circuit was nearly six miles round, to be covered 12 times. The marshalling was by Brownshirts. The race averaged 26 mph with one lap at nearly 30. Holland rode 60 of the 70 miles with three broken spokes. The rim of his wheel touched the forks on both sides. He could not stop and ask for help because "in those far-off days - no service vehicle. If you punctured, you changed it yourself. If you crashed or copped fourpenny one [another expression for a crash], then you got on with it!" said the cycling historian Chas Messenger
. Despite that, he got into the winning break on lap six. They approached the finish two minutes ahead, with Holland in fourth place behind Kees Pellenaars of Holland, the Frenchman André Deforge and the Belgian Paul André.
The others had derailleur gears for a higher ratio for the sprint. Holland had a single 81-inch freewheel, meaning he had no variable gears and that he had to pedal faster than he could manage to stay with the others. He eased back 20 metres before the line and came fourth. Stallard and Ghilks didn't finish for another two minutes, Stallard seventh and Ghilks 26th.
Cycling
said of Holland's ride:
in Berlin
, selected for the 100 km road race and as reserve for the 4,000m team pursuit. Cycling
was unimpressed by the team: "If these are our best men then they are unlikely to bring back any Olympic titles from Germany."
Holland did not win a medal but he believed it would have been different had his younger brothers, Alf and Jack, been chosen to ride with him. Alf was a reserve; Jack was the 25-mile national champion.
The 1936 Games were the so-called Hitler Olympics. Unlike most other Olympic Games to date, where the political aspects were subtle and nuanced, the Berlin Games were explicitly politicised.
The road race on the morning of August 8 began at the Avus car course, a circuit laid out on public roads to test cars. It then used a straight dual-carriageway through Berlin, a little over 12 miles long. From there the course crossed the narrow roads of the Forest of Grunewald before returning to the car track to finish. It was the first Olympic road race to be run with all the competitors starting together, rather than individually and at intervals against the watch. Sixty riders led at 81 km and fewer than 30 at 91 km, not because of hills or the speed - which was low - but because of narrow roads, punctures and crashes. Holland reached the finish and started the sprint for the finish 100m from the line. He finished less than a second behind the winner, Robert Charpentier
of France, but outside the first three.
Guy Lapébie of France came second - discovering months later from the film of the finish that Charpentier had grabbed his jersey and tugged him back - and then Ernst Nievergelt from Switzerland
. Holland finished fifth. His club magazine reported:
From a story recounted in the magazine of the Fellowship of Cycling Old-Timers:
Holland regarded 1936 as the peak of his career. As well as the Olympics, he travelled to the Isle of Man
to win the first massed-start road-race over the island's 37-mile Snaefell mountain course
, on 18 June 1936. In a sprint finish to what was effectively the first Manx International road race
, Holland beat Bill Messer (Marlboro AC) by a length with the Scot Jackie Bone third, the lap covered in 1 hour 42 minutes and 59 seconds, a speed of 22 mph.
(BBAR) time-trial competition. The contest is based on speeds over 50 and 100 miles and for 12 hours. Holland was the first to average more than 22 mph. He had been third in 1933 and second in 1934 and 1935.
Bill Mills, editor of The Bicycle, described him as:
awarded him his own page in the Golden Book of Cycling
.
in south London. There should have been numerous races but Holland rode only two, a sprint which he lost and a team pursuit in which so many riders punctured that both teams had only one rider left in the race. Rain then ended the day.
Holland's objective was to ride the six-day race to be held on a velodrome
constructed inside the Empire Pool, Wembley
, in north London. He went to Belgium
to train on the track at Liège
. He was paired in the six-day with the Belgian, Roger Deneef, and what Holland described as a misunderstanding on how each should relay the other into the race led to Holland crashing several times in the first hours. On the second day, he crashed again, broke a collar bone and dropped out. A curiosity of the race was that the leading German rider, Toni Merkens
, competed in a jersey bearing a large swastika, a hint at the future that went unnoticed at the time."
Holland broke the same collar bone in June when he tripped on a rabbit hole and had to miss riding with Continental stars on the motor-racing circuit at Crystal Palace
, south London. That same year he entered the Tour de France
, although the bone breaks had limited his training. In those days it was still possible to enter as an individual, although most places were saved for teams invited by the organiser, Henri Desgrange
or his successor, Jacques Goddet
, for whom 1937 was his first complete Tour de France as organiser.Henri Desgrange had fallen ill and left the 1936 Tour de France
. Jacques Goddet took over after Charleville and ran the whole 1937 Tour de France
. The most noticeable change under his direction was that riders were allowed to use derailleur gears for the first time. Holland said:
Two weeks before the race Holland read in Desgrange's newspaper, L'Auto that he and another British entrant, Bill Burl, would not after all compete. With the help of staff at Cycling
's office in Birmingham
, he sent a telegram to Desgrange for clarification. Next day Desgrange replied: "Following your wire dated yesterday agree engagement if you agree yours - L'Auto." The condition was that Holland, Burl and a French-Canadian called Pierre Gachon should combine in a British Empire
team.
Holland, Burl, Gachon and the other competitors were greeted at the start by the Franco-American dancer Josephine Baker
and they left Paris
wearing a Union Jack on their jerseys. Neither Holland nor Burl had met Gachon before the start and Holland was not impressed. "I think I'd have to think twice about [his] riding a second-class British event", he said. Gachon dropped out during the first day.
Burl broke his collar bone when he was knocked off of his bike by an over enthusiastic photographer on the second day. He was forced to retire.
Holland rode 2,000 miles until a broken pump stranded him on the day to Luchon. He punctured behind the leaders on the Col de Port
, fitted a new tyre and found the heat had warped the washer of his pump. He got the tyre to half-pressure but punctured twice more and ran out of tyres.
Holland didn't take the experience lightly.
Of the 98 starters, 46 reached Paris. Among other riders to abandon were the race leader Sylvère Maes
of Belgium and all his team, in protest against a judging decision.
in the Corrèze
region:
Cycling
wrote:
The rival paper, The Bicycle wrote:
In the organising paper, L'Auto, Robert Perrier wrote:
Outside specialist cycling interests, however, interest in the Tour and its first two British riders was minimal. The academics Hugh Dauncey and Geoff Hare wrote in their analysis of the absence of both British interest and marked success in the Tour de France since its start:
Later Dauncey and Hare write:
/Sturmey-Archer
, Holland broke his first Road Records Association
(RRA) record, knocking 12 minutes off the time of his rival, Frank Southall
, for Liverpool
to Edinburgh
, completing the 210 miles in 10 hours.
In August he narrowly beat the record for Land's End
to London but it was not accepted as a new RRA record because it did not improve on the old one by more than a minute. Two months later, he completed the 287 miles from Land's End to London again, racing at 21 mph through hours of rain and suffering four punctures but, knocking 25 minutes off the record.
Holland's professional career ended when Britain declared war on Germany
in 1939. He was called up to join the Royal Corps of Signals
.
. Abrahams observed:
He measured Holland's chest expansion as 3½ inches - "the average we expect in a racing cyclist" - and his heart rate at 52 to 54.
again. He took up golf and occasionally played in pro-am tournaments. He moved to Carter Road at Great Barr
, a suburb of Birmingham and opened a newsagent's shop in Newton Road, Perry Bar which he ran, and another at Sheldon, on the other side of the city, which was managed by his brother Alf. He set up the shops with money saved in his years as a professional.
He never lost interest in cycling and occasionally watched racing in Sutton Park, Birmingham, where he was rarely recognised as one of Britain's first two starters in the Tour de France. In the 1960s cycling began allowing former professionals to ride in amateur races and Holland made a comeback despite being overweight and a heavy smoker. He won the Veterans Time Trial Association best all-rounder title in 1974. In 1975, aged 67, he returned to the Isle of Man
to win the veterans' road race, riding roads he first raced over 39 years earlier. He repeated his veterans all-rounder victory, breaking age records at 25, 50 and 100 miles and for 12 hours. His 100-mile time beat the age standard by one-and-a-half hours.
He died in December 1989 and is buried in the family grave at Aldridge.
She and her sister sat in the royal box and watched a show starring the comedian Tommy Trinder
, Tour de France winner Louison Bobet
, Tour organiser Jacques Goddet
and Brian Robinson, in 1958 the first British rider to win a stage of the Tour. Not for nearly half a century did they know that in the loft of their house they had a suitcase in which their father had kept his medals, photographs, and newspaper articles. There too were his Olympic and Tour de France jerseys, his racing caps, notes and correspondence from fans. Frances, a teacher, began writing a biography, Dancing Uphill, and Nina, a book publisher, published it.
It is impossible to say whether Holland would have finished the Tour or, if he had, in what position. He was considered a novelty by organisers and the spectators, who knew nothing of cycling in Britain, and that led to his being adopted by the French team. The French called him Sir Holland and helped with advice, accommodation and food. But the first interests of French officials was always going to be with their own riders, which explains Holland's isolation when his pump broke and he ran out of tyres.
No British rider competed in or finished the Tour de France until 1955
. In that year, Brian Robinson came 29th and Tony Hoar last, the only two of the team to reach Paris. Robinson described their experience as "racing cars competing against Concorde
."
There is little direct link between Holland and Robinson, although Holland's private entry is the more remarkable because it went against the fashion of the day. The National Cyclists' Union
, which ran the sport in Britain, had opposed racing on the road since the 19th century, afraid that the police would intervene and that all cycling could be banned as a result. The position of cyclists on the road had not been established. The NCU had no interest in road racing and still less in the Tour de France. The magazine, Cycling, which had an influence stronger than at any time since, followed the NCU's line and barely covered the Tour.
The link between Holland and Robinson is further broken by the war, when the Tour de France was suspended, and by an administrative civil war that broke out in Britain at the same time. Frustrated by the NCU's ban on road racing, a group of enthusiasts led by Percy Stallard
, formed the British League of Racing Cyclists
(BLRC). The BLRC wanted nothing more than to put a team in the Tour de France but couldn't because only the NCU was recognised internationally. The battle between NCU and BLRC exhausted both bodies and only in their last years did both allow racing on the roads. It was that that led to a team being selected in 1955 and Robinson's becoming the first Briton to finish.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
to ride the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
.
The early years
Holland was one of four brothers from Aldridge, in the English MidlandsEnglish Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, a brown-eyed, black-haired man who excelled at sport from his youth. He played cricket for a local side which included V. E. Milne (sportsmen often used only their initials in those days), who also played cricket for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and soccer for Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. Holland hoped to play cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and he had a soccer trial for Aston Villa.
His father belonged to Walsall Polytechnic Cycling Club
Cycling club
A cycling club is a society for cyclists. It can be local or national, general or specialised. The Cyclists' Touring Club, CTC) in the United Kingdom is a national association; i-Team and are internet clubs; the Tricycle Association, Tandem Club and the Veterans Time Trial Association, for those...
, and held the Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
–Matlock record. Holland's first bike was a 24in-wheel bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
his father bought for his eldest brother, Walter, and which was handed down the family when it became too small. At 12 he went on his first cycle tour, to the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
area, with his father. In 1927 he rode his first race, the Wyndham Novices 25-mile individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
. Using his brother Walter's bike, he came second in 1h 10min. His first victory was on 1 April 1928 in the Walsall Roads Club 10-mile event
That year, Holland joined the Midland Cycling and Athletic Club. He tried track racing, but with less success than on the road. Riding a bicycle with a fixed wheel and no brakes is difficult but to do it shoulder-to-shoulder with other riders and on a curved grass track proved defying. He rode a sports day run by Metropolitan Carriage Works of Birmingham around a cricket ground in Washwood Heath. Everyone passed him in his first event, a handicap, and then again in the half-mile as those he passed in the straight raced by on the bends, where Holland couldn't control his bike sufficiently.
Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1932
The road race at Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
was the last to be held as a time trial, a lone race against the watch over 100 km. For Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which since the 19th century had had nothing but timed races on the road, that made selection simpler. On the other hand, the British Olympic Committee decided, because of the cost of getting to Los Angeles that "no competitor who is unlikely to reach the semi-final or final of his event shall be taken... and that only the absolutely necessary officials shall be taken".
Holland was picked to ride with Frank Southall
Frank Southall
William Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...
, Bill Harvell, Stan Butler and Ernie Johnson. They sailed from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
aboard the Empress of Britain
Empress of Britain
RMS Empress of Britain was a transatlantic ocean liner built by Fairfield Shipbuilding at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland in 1905-1906 for Canadian Pacific Steamship . This ship -- the first of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Britain -- regularly traversed the trans-Atlantic route between...
.
Amid scenes of wild enthusiasm the team of seven cyclists left Waterloo for the first stage of their epic journey. The crowds, the mountains of luggage, the three big crates containing the machines, the hissing steam and the shrieking whistles, the bubbling joviality, all blended into one big picture that will be for ever memorable.
The winner of the road race was Attilo Pavesi of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Southall finished sixth, Holland 15th, Butler 16th, Harvell 19th. The Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
team came fourth overall. Butler did not ride because he had fallen on tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
lines during a stop in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and been hit by a car.
Holland was also picked to ride on the track, in the team pursuit
Team pursuit
The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, start on opposite sides of the velodrome.- Race format :...
with Southall, Harvell, Johnson and Holland. The Italians - Marco Cimatti, Paolo Pedretti, Alberto Ghilardi and Nino Borsari - won again, with 4min 53sec, having set an Olympic record of 4min 52.9sec in the heats. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was second in 4min 55.7sec. and Britain third in 4min 56sec.
World championship
Holland was selected to ride the world championship road race at LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1934, to ride with Percy Stallard
Percy Stallard
Percy Thornley Stallard was an English racing cyclist who reintroduced massed-start road racing on British roads in the 1940s....
and Fred Ghilks. Their accompanying official from the National Cyclists' Union
National Cyclists' Union
The National Cyclists' Union was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain...
was from Herne Hill
Herne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
in south London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and knew little of road-racing.
The circuit was nearly six miles round, to be covered 12 times. The marshalling was by Brownshirts. The race averaged 26 mph with one lap at nearly 30. Holland rode 60 of the 70 miles with three broken spokes. The rim of his wheel touched the forks on both sides. He could not stop and ask for help because "in those far-off days - no service vehicle. If you punctured, you changed it yourself. If you crashed or copped fourpenny one [another expression for a crash], then you got on with it!" said the cycling historian Chas Messenger
Chas Messenger
Charles William "Chas" Messenger was a British cyclist, a former Milk Race organiser and British road team manager.Messenger was born in London...
. Despite that, he got into the winning break on lap six. They approached the finish two minutes ahead, with Holland in fourth place behind Kees Pellenaars of Holland, the Frenchman André Deforge and the Belgian Paul André.
The others had derailleur gears for a higher ratio for the sprint. Holland had a single 81-inch freewheel, meaning he had no variable gears and that he had to pedal faster than he could manage to stay with the others. He eased back 20 metres before the line and came fourth. Stallard and Ghilks didn't finish for another two minutes, Stallard seventh and Ghilks 26th.
Cycling
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
said of Holland's ride:
Class told, and this country's face was saved, to an extent by the fact that the England selectors had in one case out of the four selections, ignored the BrooklandsBrooklandsBrooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
' [selection race] results and chosen a man whom, all the country had known for two years, had the class necessary to remain with the leaders.
Olympic Games: Berlin 1936
Holland rode the 1936 Summer Olympics1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, selected for the 100 km road race and as reserve for the 4,000m team pursuit. Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
was unimpressed by the team: "If these are our best men then they are unlikely to bring back any Olympic titles from Germany."
Holland did not win a medal but he believed it would have been different had his younger brothers, Alf and Jack, been chosen to ride with him. Alf was a reserve; Jack was the 25-mile national champion.
The 1936 Games were the so-called Hitler Olympics. Unlike most other Olympic Games to date, where the political aspects were subtle and nuanced, the Berlin Games were explicitly politicised.
The road race on the morning of August 8 began at the Avus car course, a circuit laid out on public roads to test cars. It then used a straight dual-carriageway through Berlin, a little over 12 miles long. From there the course crossed the narrow roads of the Forest of Grunewald before returning to the car track to finish. It was the first Olympic road race to be run with all the competitors starting together, rather than individually and at intervals against the watch. Sixty riders led at 81 km and fewer than 30 at 91 km, not because of hills or the speed - which was low - but because of narrow roads, punctures and crashes. Holland reached the finish and started the sprint for the finish 100m from the line. He finished less than a second behind the winner, Robert Charpentier
Robert Charpentier
Robert Charpentier was a French racing cyclist who won three gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics.-External links:* at DatabaseOlympics.com...
of France, but outside the first three.
Guy Lapébie of France came second - discovering months later from the film of the finish that Charpentier had grabbed his jersey and tugged him back - and then Ernst Nievergelt from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Holland finished fifth. His club magazine reported:
It must have been a nightmare kind of event and one in which only the strongest combinations could have kept a rider in the front bunch. Charlie could not gather his compatriots round him and from what we can understand he had to fight his way, elbowing, jostling and pushing to occupy a front position in that fierce affair. Very many riders came to grief, a happening that overtook most of the other British representatives; but Charles sailed through barging and bucking into the excited crowd and actually leading the field a few hundred yards from the finishing tape.
From a story recounted in the magazine of the Fellowship of Cycling Old-Timers:
During one of our long conversations while Phil, his lovely wife, prepared tea, Charlie (she always called him Charles) recalled an incident while training for the Berlin Olympics. He was out in the countryside and stopped for a rest, to look around, on a bridge that passed over a newly constructed autobahn. Below him in the distance he could see a mass of vehicles coming down the new super highway, constructed of concrete, with the swastikaSwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
flags fluttering from the wings of the massive MercedesMercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
as they convoyed towards the stadium. Seated in one of the open Mercs was the well-known figure of one Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. As Charlie said, he could have prevented world war two by simply dropping a bomb in Hitler's lap.
Holland regarded 1936 as the peak of his career. As well as the Olympics, he travelled to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
to win the first massed-start road-race over the island's 37-mile Snaefell mountain course
Snaefell mountain course
Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course is a road-racing circuit used for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix Races held in the Isle of Man from 1911 and 1923 respectively. The racing is held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald...
, on 18 June 1936. In a sprint finish to what was effectively the first Manx International road race
Manx Trophy
The Manx Trophy or Isle of Man International Road Race is a bicycle road race run annually on the Isle of Man. In the 1960s the race attracted the world's top professional cyclists including Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx....
, Holland beat Bill Messer (Marlboro AC) by a length with the Scot Jackie Bone third, the lap covered in 1 hour 42 minutes and 59 seconds, a speed of 22 mph.
The British Best All-Rounder
1936 culminated in Holland winning the British Best All-RounderBritish Best All-Rounder
The British Best All-Rounder competition, organised by Cycling Time Trials, is an annual British cycle-racing competition. It ranks riders by their average speeds in individual time trials, over 50 and and 12 hours for men, and over 25, 50 and for women. There are similar competitions for...
(BBAR) time-trial competition. The contest is based on speeds over 50 and 100 miles and for 12 hours. Holland was the first to average more than 22 mph. He had been third in 1933 and second in 1934 and 1935.
Bill Mills, editor of The Bicycle, described him as:
The best all-rounder, not in its narrow sense of best average in certain particular road events, but in its real sense of best at all types of cycling. Holland's record for the year includes successes at almost every possible type of racing: time trials, massed-starts, track racing, in fact the full programme in which every clubman likes to indulge. The specialist 'pot hunter' may confine himself to his little round of events at distances that he finds brings in the rewards, but the real clubman runs through the gamut of events, taking pleasure, if not prizes, in all and sundry. Of such a type is the dusky Midlander, taking all the sport can offer in his stride.
The Golden Book
Charles Holland's achievements were celebrated in 1937 when Cycling WeeklyCycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
awarded him his own page in the Golden Book of Cycling
Golden Book of Cycling
The Golden Book of Cycling was created in 1932 by Cycling, a British cycling magazine,to celebrate "the Sport and Pastime of Cycling by recording the outstanding rides, deeds and accomplishments of cyclists, officials and administrators." There exists only a single copy of this compendium of...
.
Six-day track race and Tour de France
Holland turned professional in April 1937, 10 years after his first race. His first event was an 'Empire versus Foreigners' meeting at Herne HillHerne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
in south London. There should have been numerous races but Holland rode only two, a sprint which he lost and a team pursuit in which so many riders punctured that both teams had only one rider left in the race. Rain then ended the day.
Holland's objective was to ride the six-day race to be held on a velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
constructed inside the Empire Pool, Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, in north London. He went to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to train on the track at Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
. He was paired in the six-day with the Belgian, Roger Deneef, and what Holland described as a misunderstanding on how each should relay the other into the race led to Holland crashing several times in the first hours. On the second day, he crashed again, broke a collar bone and dropped out. A curiosity of the race was that the leading German rider, Toni Merkens
Toni Merkens
Toni Merkens was a racing cyclist from Germany and Olympic champion. He represented his native country at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he received the gold medal in the men's 1000 meter match sprint event.-Racing career:Merkens trained as a bicycle mechanic with Fritz Köthke...
, competed in a jersey bearing a large swastika, a hint at the future that went unnoticed at the time."
Holland broke the same collar bone in June when he tripped on a rabbit hole and had to miss riding with Continental stars on the motor-racing circuit at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace (circuit)
Crystal Palace circuit was a motor racing circuit in Crystal Palace, London, England. The circuit was located within Crystal Palace park. The route of the track can still be seen on maps providing access to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre that is also located in the park.- History :The...
, south London. That same year he entered the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, although the bone breaks had limited his training. In those days it was still possible to enter as an individual, although most places were saved for teams invited by the organiser, Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
or his successor, Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986....
, for whom 1937 was his first complete Tour de France as organiser.Henri Desgrange had fallen ill and left the 1936 Tour de France
1936 Tour de France
The 1936 Tour de France was the 30th Tour de France, taking place July 7 to August 2, 1936. It was composed of 21 stages with a total length of 4,418 km, ridden at an average speed of 31.108 km/h. Because of health problems, Henri Desgrange stopped as Tour director, and was succeeded by...
. Jacques Goddet took over after Charleville and ran the whole 1937 Tour de France
1937 Tour de France
The 1937 Tour de France was the 31st Tour de France, taking place June 30 to July 25, 1937. It consisted of 20 stages with a total length of 4415 km, ridden at an average speed of 31.768 km/h....
. The most noticeable change under his direction was that riders were allowed to use derailleur gears for the first time. Holland said:
Two weeks before the race Holland read in Desgrange's newspaper, L'Auto that he and another British entrant, Bill Burl, would not after all compete. With the help of staff at Cycling
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
's office in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, he sent a telegram to Desgrange for clarification. Next day Desgrange replied: "Following your wire dated yesterday agree engagement if you agree yours - L'Auto." The condition was that Holland, Burl and a French-Canadian called Pierre Gachon should combine in a British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
team.
Holland, Burl, Gachon and the other competitors were greeted at the start by the Franco-American dancer Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
and they left Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
wearing a Union Jack on their jerseys. Neither Holland nor Burl had met Gachon before the start and Holland was not impressed. "I think I'd have to think twice about [his] riding a second-class British event", he said. Gachon dropped out during the first day.
Burl broke his collar bone when he was knocked off of his bike by an over enthusiastic photographer on the second day. He was forced to retire.
Holland rode 2,000 miles until a broken pump stranded him on the day to Luchon. He punctured behind the leaders on the Col de Port
Col de Port
Col de Port is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees between Massat and Tarascon-sur-Ariège in the “massif de l'Arize”. It links the Couserans and Ariège valleys....
, fitted a new tyre and found the heat had warped the washer of his pump. He got the tyre to half-pressure but punctured twice more and ran out of tyres.
Holland didn't take the experience lightly.
Of the 98 starters, 46 reached Paris. Among other riders to abandon were the race leader Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.- Palmarès :1932...
of Belgium and all his team, in protest against a judging decision.
Public reaction
Holland and Burl had become the first British competitors in the Tour and Gachon the first Canadian. Since he was in the race far longer, it was who Holland attracted much affection among French fans, one of whom wrote from LacelleLacelle
Lacelle is a commune in the Corrèze department of central France.-Population:...
in the Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
region:
My dear Holland, I am a French girl who likes very much her bicycle and who is very fond of « Tour de France ». So, I read « L'Auto » and I listen to « Radio-Luxembourg ». I have been very pleased to learn we would have an English « équipe » this year. First, I congratulate you for this: to run the « Tour de France » because I know it is not very important in England, your people prefers tennis, golf and so on, and however not one other competition permits as well as this, to measure courage. I think you have come with your own will and I say it is very well indeed. Unhappily, your friends have no had luck, and it is very bad for you too, because it must be so hard to stay alone, in a so hard performance. So I admire your « war » and all my best thoughts on the « Tour de France » are for you. Don't be sorry if you are not the first, it is impossible when one is alone.
Cycling
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
wrote:
So far as this country is concerned the race this year has had one outstanding justification; it has shown us the courage and the splendid riding ability of one of our own men, Charles Holland, and we can take pride in his glorious failure knowing that alone as he was, a complete stranger in his surroundings, the victor's laurels could never have been his had he been the greatest stayer, the fastest sprinter and the finest roadmen in the race. Holland is the product of his own determination to be the best Englishman at that class of riding. That he kept in the Tour for three-quarters of the distance, and was only them forced to abandon through ill luck demonstrates that no matter what the sphere of competitive cycling we have ambitions to contest, men can be developed, if we have the will, who can again rank with the world's best.
The rival paper, The Bicycle wrote:
"Goodbye, Holland. Do not be discouraged by your bad luck. You are the man of the Tour."
In the organising paper, L'Auto, Robert Perrier wrote:
Charles Holland did not arrive on the avenues of Etigny. We will no longer see his fine youthful silhouette on the road. We will no longer see his modest smile and his mischievous glances. We will no longer hear his reflections drawn from the source of the best humour of his country. Tomorrow we will give him the pyjamas he threw in our car after Lille along with his toothbrush and toothpaste which he never reclaimed. Charles Holland has abandoned the Tour without a fuss, with pride.
Outside specialist cycling interests, however, interest in the Tour and its first two British riders was minimal. The academics Hugh Dauncey and Geoff Hare wrote in their analysis of the absence of both British interest and marked success in the Tour de France since its start:
Coverage of the Tour by The Times, the newspaper of reference, teaches us much about English attitudes. In 1937, for instance, when Holland and Burl abandoned without The Times deigning to mention their suffering, two brief comments on the race were 'Discordant cycle race: pepper thrown at Belgian team' and a half-hearted announcement, as though only the people concerned might be interested: 'France wins Tour de France'.It was the perceived unevenness of penalties handed out by officials during the 1937 Tour de France1937 Tour de FranceThe 1937 Tour de France was the 31st Tour de France, taking place June 30 to July 25, 1937. It consisted of 20 stages with a total length of 4415 km, ridden at an average speed of 31.768 km/h....
that led to the walk-out by Sylvère Maes, the race leader, and the rest of the Belgian team.
Later Dauncey and Hare write:
Nobody (in France at least) remembers the amateurs Charles Holland and Bill Burl, who both had to drop out, physically exhausted, certainly, but above all stunned by the misery to which they had so innocently [ imprudemment] committed themselves. For Holland, the apparent variability with which the rules were applied was more discouraging than the mountain passes and the distances.
Road records
1938 was the year Holland attempted professional place-to-place records on the road, at that time the only way that a professional rider could publicise his sponsor, there still being no massed racing on the road and professionals not being allowed to ride amateur time-trials. In June, riding for RaleighRaleigh Bicycle Company
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer originally based in Nottingham, UK. It is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. From 1921 to 1935 Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of the Reliant Company.-Early years:Raleigh's history...
/Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer
Sturmey-Archer is a manufacturing company originally from Nottingham, England. It primarily produces bicycle hub gears but has also produced motorcycle hubs....
, Holland broke his first Road Records Association
Road Records Association
The Road Records Association is a British cycle racing organisation which supervises records on the road but not in conventional races. It is one of the oldest cycle sport organisations in the world, formed in 1888.-Remit:...
(RRA) record, knocking 12 minutes off the time of his rival, Frank Southall
Frank Southall
William Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...
, for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, completing the 210 miles in 10 hours.
In August he narrowly beat the record for Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
to London but it was not accepted as a new RRA record because it did not improve on the old one by more than a minute. Two months later, he completed the 287 miles from Land's End to London again, racing at 21 mph through hours of rain and suffering four punctures but, knocking 25 minutes off the record.
Holland's professional career ended when Britain declared war on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1939. He was called up to join the Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
.
Physiology
In 1936, Holland was examined by Adolphe Abrahams, the medical officer of the British Olympic athletic team, for the magazine CyclingCycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
. Abrahams observed:
Charles Holland's... thigh is relatively long... In all great cyclists we confidently expect a muscular thigh, not, perhaps, to the extent of the short-distance runner, in whom violent explosive efforts are demanded, but still a conspicuous development. In Holland's case, the maximum circumference falls below that of the others, but the character of the development is particularly fine, the prominence of the muscle bellies demarcating the components of the great mass on the front of the thigh, affording a picture with which we are all familiar as the athletic ideal.
And when we examine Holland's calf muscles, the appearance is still more striking. These muscles have a better development than any of his predecessors, with the exception of Frank SouthallFrank SouthallWilliam Frank Southall was an English racing cyclist who won silver medals for Great Britain in the individual road race at the 1928 Summer Olympics and a track cycling medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...
... A curious anomaly was a considerable difference in [Holland's] two calves; the left is fully half an inch larger in circumference. This, I presume, is due to some peculiarity of action; a tiny asymmetry in movements of the ankles would eventually account for this difference.
He measured Holland's chest expansion as 3½ inches - "the average we expect in a racing cyclist" - and his heart rate at 52 to 54.
Post-war life
Holland was too old to race again as a professional when the war ended and rules at the time did not allow him to race as an amateurAmateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
again. He took up golf and occasionally played in pro-am tournaments. He moved to Carter Road at Great Barr
Great Barr
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...
, a suburb of Birmingham and opened a newsagent's shop in Newton Road, Perry Bar which he ran, and another at Sheldon, on the other side of the city, which was managed by his brother Alf. He set up the shops with money saved in his years as a professional.
He never lost interest in cycling and occasionally watched racing in Sutton Park, Birmingham, where he was rarely recognised as one of Britain's first two starters in the Tour de France. In the 1960s cycling began allowing former professionals to ride in amateur races and Holland made a comeback despite being overweight and a heavy smoker. He won the Veterans Time Trial Association best all-rounder title in 1974. In 1975, aged 67, he returned to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
to win the veterans' road race, riding roads he first raced over 39 years earlier. He repeated his veterans all-rounder victory, breaking age records at 25, 50 and 100 miles and for 12 hours. His 100-mile time beat the age standard by one-and-a-half hours.
He died in December 1989 and is buried in the family grave at Aldridge.
Discovery of records
Holland's daughters, Nina and Frances, say they grew up seeing their father's cups around the houses but had little idea of their significance. Frances said:How famous our dad had been was brought home to us in 1962; I was 11 years old when we went with him to the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
(British Best All-RounderBritish Best All-RounderThe British Best All-Rounder competition, organised by Cycling Time Trials, is an annual British cycle-racing competition. It ranks riders by their average speeds in individual time trials, over 50 and and 12 hours for men, and over 25, 50 and for women. There are similar competitions for...
dinner and awards) where he was invited to tell the Story of the Yellow Jersey.
She and her sister sat in the royal box and watched a show starring the comedian Tommy Trinder
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre and post war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.-Life:...
, Tour de France winner Louison Bobet
Louison Bobet
Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955...
, Tour organiser Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986....
and Brian Robinson, in 1958 the first British rider to win a stage of the Tour. Not for nearly half a century did they know that in the loft of their house they had a suitcase in which their father had kept his medals, photographs, and newspaper articles. There too were his Olympic and Tour de France jerseys, his racing caps, notes and correspondence from fans. Frances, a teacher, began writing a biography, Dancing Uphill, and Nina, a book publisher, published it.
Significance
Holland's significance is that he and Bill Burl were the first Britons to ride the Tour de France. Holland's contribution was the greater because Burl lasted only two days. Holland and Burl are also the only Britons to have ridden as private entrants, something that was possible until the outbreak of the second world war but not afterwards.It is impossible to say whether Holland would have finished the Tour or, if he had, in what position. He was considered a novelty by organisers and the spectators, who knew nothing of cycling in Britain, and that led to his being adopted by the French team. The French called him Sir Holland and helped with advice, accommodation and food. But the first interests of French officials was always going to be with their own riders, which explains Holland's isolation when his pump broke and he ran out of tyres.
No British rider competed in or finished the Tour de France until 1955
1955 Tour de France
The 1955 Tour de France was the 42nd Tour de France, taking place from July 7 to July 30, 1955. It consisted of 22 stages over 4495 km, ridden at an average speed of 34.446 km/h....
. In that year, Brian Robinson came 29th and Tony Hoar last, the only two of the team to reach Paris. Robinson described their experience as "racing cars competing against Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
."
There is little direct link between Holland and Robinson, although Holland's private entry is the more remarkable because it went against the fashion of the day. The National Cyclists' Union
National Cyclists' Union
The National Cyclists' Union was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain...
, which ran the sport in Britain, had opposed racing on the road since the 19th century, afraid that the police would intervene and that all cycling could be banned as a result. The position of cyclists on the road had not been established. The NCU had no interest in road racing and still less in the Tour de France. The magazine, Cycling, which had an influence stronger than at any time since, followed the NCU's line and barely covered the Tour.
The link between Holland and Robinson is further broken by the war, when the Tour de France was suspended, and by an administrative civil war that broke out in Britain at the same time. Frustrated by the NCU's ban on road racing, a group of enthusiasts led by Percy Stallard
Percy Stallard
Percy Thornley Stallard was an English racing cyclist who reintroduced massed-start road racing on British roads in the 1940s....
, formed the British League of Racing Cyclists
British League of Racing Cyclists
The British League of Racing Cyclists was an association formed in 1942 to promote road bicycle racing in Great Britain. It operated in competition with the National Cyclists' Union, a rivalry which lasted until the two merged in 1959 to form the British Cycling Federation.-Background:The National...
(BLRC). The BLRC wanted nothing more than to put a team in the Tour de France but couldn't because only the NCU was recognised internationally. The battle between NCU and BLRC exhausted both bodies and only in their last years did both allow racing on the roads. It was that that led to a team being selected in 1955 and Robinson's becoming the first Briton to finish.