Ian Steel
Encyclopedia
John "Ian" Steel is a Scottish racing cyclist who in 1952 won the Peace Race, an eastern European race between Warsaw, Berlin and Prague. He was the first Briton to win and the first to win any major race. He also won a stage of the Tour of Britain
as a semi-professional and was at one stage second in the 1952 Tour of Mexico before crashing.
, Scotland
, Ian Steel joined the Glasgow United club at 18, in 1946, introduced by a friend, John Brierley. His first race was a 25-mile (40 km) time-trial, in 1946. He finished third in 1h 13m 55s, two minutes behind the winner. He improved and won time trial
s at 25, 50 and 100 miles and over 12 hours. He came into cycling at a time when racing was engaged in a civil war between the National Cyclists Union and a new body, the British League of Racing Cyclists
. The BLRC began organising massed-start races on the public road, a form of the sport the NCU had banned in the 19th century because it feared it would bring problems for all cyclists. Steel moved in 1951 from Glasgow United to the Glasgow Wheelers, which supported the BLRC. Scotland's governing body, the Scottish Cyclists' Union, was not involved in the dispute, although the civil war between the NCU and BLRC affected Scottish riders racing abrod.
The BLRC sent national teams abroad and in 1951 Steel rode for Scotland in Paris-Lens and came second. His ride impressed a semi-professional team in England sponsored by Viking Cycles. The BLRC supported the idea of semi-professionals and it allowed them in the Tour of Britain which it promoted.
Steel won the 1951 Tour of Britain and three of its stages. It was the first time he had been to England. He won another stage the following year and became national champion.
The race lasted from 30 April until 13 May and covered 2,138 km at 37.5kmh, much of the way on poor roads. Only two stages finished on hard surfaces, the others ending on tracks of shale or cinders. Steel moved into first position on the eighth stage and won the entire race in 57h 6m 17s, with the Czech, Jan Vesely, in second position two and a half minutes behind.
The British team won £2,000 of goods - there was no professional racing behind the Iron Curtain
- including brief cases, watches, cameras, radios and shaving gear and toiletries. Steel won a bicycle which he gave away to a fellow Scotsman living in Prague. .
said: "Steel's triumph - he also led a British team win - has never been officially acknowledged. His famous result in 1952 had a direct influence on Britain's warring cycling bodies, forcing them to accept an uneasy truce before they eventually amalgamated seven years later. When Steel's victory in the toughest amateur stage race in the world won the BLRC international recognition from the Union Cycliste Internationale
, the NCU was outraged. But the UCI, tired of the rift in British cycling, threatened the NCU with expulsion if it failed to work at a solution. Eventually the BLRC and NCU merged to form the British Cycling Federation.
Steel was honoured on the 50th anniversary of winning the Peace Race by the Association of the British League of Racing Cyclists.
in the first team Britain had entered. Many of the riders were from a rival domestic team sponsored by Hercules
. So was the manager, Syd Cozens. The writer William Fotheringham
said: "The Scot was riding strongly but he was a member of the Viking team, Hercules' big domestic rival. When Cozens ordered him to drop back from the main group to support a team-mate during a mountain stage, Steel protested that he was not willing to sacrifice his own chances. He was threatened with expulsion and duly went home, his morale in tatters."
Only two of the British team - Brian Robinson 29th and Tony Hoar 69th and more than six hours behind the winner - finished the race. But Robinson had secured a contract to ride for a Swiss team, Cilo-St Raphaël and Steel joined him with Hoar and a third Britain, Bernard Pusey. Its star rider was Hugo Koblet
. But it was a poor team in which most riders, including Robinson, were given just a bike, jersey and expenses and a chance to win prizes. Steel returned to Britain and rode his last season in 1956, again for Viking Cycles. He became the team's manager. Reverting to amateur status was difficult and lengthy and Steel retired at the end of the season. His career was at its height in 1951 and 1952 but he had no wins from 1953 to 1956.
awarded him his own page in the Golden Book of Cycling
.
Tour of Britain
The Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
as a semi-professional and was at one stage second in the 1952 Tour of Mexico before crashing.
Biography
Born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, 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...
, Ian Steel joined the Glasgow United club at 18, in 1946, introduced by a friend, John Brierley. His first race was a 25-mile (40 km) time-trial, in 1946. He finished third in 1h 13m 55s, two minutes behind the winner. He improved and won time trial
Time trial
In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
s at 25, 50 and 100 miles and over 12 hours. He came into cycling at a time when racing was engaged in a civil war between the National Cyclists Union and a new body, 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...
. The BLRC began organising massed-start races on the public road, a form of the sport the NCU had banned in the 19th century because it feared it would bring problems for all cyclists. Steel moved in 1951 from Glasgow United to the Glasgow Wheelers, which supported the BLRC. Scotland's governing body, the Scottish Cyclists' Union, was not involved in the dispute, although the civil war between the NCU and BLRC affected Scottish riders racing abrod.
The BLRC sent national teams abroad and in 1951 Steel rode for Scotland in Paris-Lens and came second. His ride impressed a semi-professional team in England sponsored by Viking Cycles. The BLRC supported the idea of semi-professionals and it allowed them in the Tour of Britain which it promoted.
Steel won the 1951 Tour of Britain and three of its stages. It was the first time he had been to England. He won another stage the following year and became national champion.
The Peace Race
That stage win was another feature of his most successful season, the one in which he won the Peace Race. He rode for a British team sent to communist Europe - the race was largely ridden by members of the post-war communist bloc and was intended to unite them in sport - by the BLRC. The NCU had turned down the invitation.The race lasted from 30 April until 13 May and covered 2,138 km at 37.5kmh, much of the way on poor roads. Only two stages finished on hard surfaces, the others ending on tracks of shale or cinders. Steel moved into first position on the eighth stage and won the entire race in 57h 6m 17s, with the Czech, Jan Vesely, in second position two and a half minutes behind.
The British team won £2,000 of goods - there was no professional racing behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
- including brief cases, watches, cameras, radios and shaving gear and toiletries. Steel won a bicycle which he gave away to a fellow Scotsman living in Prague. .
Domestic effects
The magazine 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:...
said: "Steel's triumph - he also led a British team win - has never been officially acknowledged. His famous result in 1952 had a direct influence on Britain's warring cycling bodies, forcing them to accept an uneasy truce before they eventually amalgamated seven years later. When Steel's victory in the toughest amateur stage race in the world won the BLRC international recognition from the Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
, the NCU was outraged. But the UCI, tired of the rift in British cycling, threatened the NCU with expulsion if it failed to work at a solution. Eventually the BLRC and NCU merged to form the British Cycling Federation.
Steel was honoured on the 50th anniversary of winning the Peace Race by the Association of the British League of Racing Cyclists.
Later career
Steel rode for Viking Cycles from 1951 to 1955. In 1955 he rode the Tour de FranceTour 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...
in the first team Britain had entered. Many of the riders were from a rival domestic team sponsored by Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
. So was the manager, Syd Cozens. The writer William Fotheringham
William Fotheringham
William Fotheringham is a sports writer specialising in cycling and rugby. As a newspaper journalist he writes for The Guardian. Fotheringham was a features editor for Cycling Weekly, and the first editor of Cycle Sport and Procycling magazine...
said: "The Scot was riding strongly but he was a member of the Viking team, Hercules' big domestic rival. When Cozens ordered him to drop back from the main group to support a team-mate during a mountain stage, Steel protested that he was not willing to sacrifice his own chances. He was threatened with expulsion and duly went home, his morale in tatters."
Only two of the British team - Brian Robinson 29th and Tony Hoar 69th and more than six hours behind the winner - finished the race. But Robinson had secured a contract to ride for a Swiss team, Cilo-St Raphaël and Steel joined him with Hoar and a third Britain, Bernard Pusey. Its star rider was Hugo Koblet
Hugo Koblet
Hugo Koblet was a Swiss champion cyclist. He won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track. He won 70 races as a professional...
. But it was a poor team in which most riders, including Robinson, were given just a bike, jersey and expenses and a chance to win prizes. Steel returned to Britain and rode his last season in 1956, again for Viking Cycles. He became the team's manager. Reverting to amateur status was difficult and lengthy and Steel retired at the end of the season. His career was at its height in 1951 and 1952 but he had no wins from 1953 to 1956.
The Golden Book
Steel's achievements were celebrated in the 1990s 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...
.