Mark Bell (cyclist)
Encyclopedia
Mark Bell was an English
professional cyclist from Birkenhead
. He rode for Britain in the Olympic Games
, won the national road championship as an amateur and then a professional and was the first foreigner to win the Étoile de Sud stage race in Belgium. He died at 49 after collapsing at his home in Bebbington
, Wirral
. He had recently recovered from alcoholism
.
races and as a 14-year-old rode for the North of England in the English Schools Cycling Association international three-day at Filey
, Yorkshire
.
. Later that season still only 19 he finished the world amateur road race championship in Valkenburg, Holland. He also spent some time in 1979 with the ACBB, riding alongside Phil Anderson
and Robert Millar
. In 1981, he won the British National Road Race Championships
in Colchester
and won two stages in the Milk Race
. The following season Bell and track rider Piers Hewitt spent some time living and racing in France
for UVCA Troyes.
Bell competed in the road race at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
in Brisbane
finishing 9th, the gold medal
won by compatriot Malcolm Elliott
. Bell made history in 1983 becoming the first foreigner to win the Étoile de Sud stage race in Belgium
. In 1984 he rode for Britain in the Olympic Games
road race in Los Angeles
. Bell was the top British rider for the Olympic road race. However the course contained a tough climb that no-one had told him about as the BCF selectors had said it was flat. Consequently Bell felt he was the wrong type of rider for the course. Bell was not a climber - evidence his 110th place in the British National Hill Climb Championships
, several years before the Olympics. He did not finish the race, and dropped out before the halfway mark. However he had an extremely successful amateur career, winning around 200 races as an amateur. That included classics such as the Pernod GP, the Lincoln GP and GP of Essex.
and turned professional for Falcon, alongside Shane Sutton
. Falcon were one of several teams riding largely in Britain. He won the Delyn Grand Prix in his first season and finished third in the British National Road Race Championships
. The following year he moved to the Raleigh team, riding with Paul Sherwen
, Paul Watson
, Jon Clay
and former Manchester Wheelers
team mate Jeff Williams
. In his first season with Raleigh he won the British National Road Race Championships
. Brian Cookson
, later president of the British Cycling Federation, said: "I remember, as a commissaire
, following Mark throughout his successful breakaway to win the national pro road race title in 1986, when he simply rode away from some of the greatest names in the sport."
Bell was often labelled as a sprinter
and won his first two stages in the Milk Race at York
and Blackpool
from bunch sprints. However Bell disputed this tag as he said “I sprint better from a small group than from a bunch. I’d say, basically, that on my day I’m a strong rider that has the ability to nick a sprint or go alone in a breakaway.”
In 1988 he joined Emmelle-MBK riding alongside Graham Jones
. He retired at the end of the 1988 season.
damage to my lower right leg and foot and also have osteomyelitis damage to my left shoulder requiring a replacement shoulder operation." He was found dead in January the following year.
His brother, Tony
, also a former professional, said: "Mark battled with a lot of his own problems in his last years, but, when he was on top of things and doing well, he was a lovely man.”
1979
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
professional cyclist from Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. He rode for Britain in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, won the national road championship as an amateur and then a professional and was the first foreigner to win the Étoile de Sud stage race in Belgium. He died at 49 after collapsing at his home in Bebbington
Bebbington
Bebbington is an English surname, and may refer to:* Anthony Bebbington , English university professor* David Bebbington , British historian...
, Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
. He had recently recovered from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Origins
Mark Bell was an early talent. A rival, Neil France, said: "I first met Mark in Barnston dip on the Wirral when I tried to drop him. As a 12-year-old imagine my surprise when the nine-year-old Mark kept up with me!". At 10 he finished a 10-mile time-trial in 33 minutes, wearing soccer clothes and school shoes. He came sixth in a race against boys several years older when he was 12, won cyclo-crossCyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter , and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and...
races and as a 14-year-old rode for the North of England in the English Schools Cycling Association international three-day at Filey
Filey
Filey is a small town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the borough of Scarborough and is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on the North Sea coast. Although it started out as a fishing village, it has a large beach and is a popular tourist resort...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Amateur career
Mark Bell won the season-long Peter Buckley Trophy competition for the best under-18 in 1978. He turned 18 the following season and won the Benedictine GP at Leyland, Lancashire. In 1979 he earned his first senior international selection, which was for the Sealink International and was 3rd in the British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
. Later that season still only 19 he finished the world amateur road race championship in Valkenburg, Holland. He also spent some time in 1979 with the ACBB, riding alongside Phil Anderson
Phil Anderson
Philip Grant Anderson OAM is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who was the first non-European to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.-Origins:...
and Robert Millar
Robert Millar
Robert Millar is a former Scottish professional cyclist who won the “King of the Mountains” competition in the 1984 Tour de France and finished fourth overall – sharing the highest Tour position for a British cyclist with Bradley Wiggins, and the first time a Briton had won a major Tour...
. In 1981, he won the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
and won two stages in the Milk Race
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....
. The following season Bell and track rider Piers Hewitt spent some time living and racing in 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...
for UVCA Troyes.
Bell competed in the road race at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
finishing 9th, the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
won by compatriot Malcolm Elliott
Malcolm Elliott
Malcolm Elliott is an English professional cyclist, whose professional career has lasted from 1984 to 1997 when he retired and from 2003 up to the present day when he made his comeback in British domestic racing....
. Bell made history in 1983 becoming the first foreigner to win the Étoile de Sud stage race in 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...
. In 1984 he rode for Britain in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
road race in Los Angeles
Los 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...
. Bell was the top British rider for the Olympic road race. However the course contained a tough climb that no-one had told him about as the BCF selectors had said it was flat. Consequently Bell felt he was the wrong type of rider for the course. Bell was not a climber - evidence his 110th place in the British National Hill Climb Championships
British National Hill Climb Championships
The British National Hill Climb Championship is a hill climbing competition held annually by Cycling Time Trials with the location varying year on year. The first edition was in 1944.- Results :-References:***...
, several years before the Olympics. He did not finish the race, and dropped out before the halfway mark. However he had an extremely successful amateur career, winning around 200 races as an amateur. That included classics such as the Pernod GP, the Lincoln GP and GP of Essex.
Professional career
Bell returned from 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...
and turned professional for Falcon, alongside Shane Sutton
Shane Sutton
Shane Edwin Sutton OBE is a British Cycling coach, former Welsh national cycling coach and professional racing cyclist. Sutton was one of the four men to win gold for Australia at the 1978 Commonwealth Games along with his brother, Gary Sutton...
. Falcon were one of several teams riding largely in Britain. He won the Delyn Grand Prix in his first season and finished third in the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
. The following year he moved to the Raleigh team, riding with Paul Sherwen
Paul Sherwen
Paul Sherwen is an English former professional racing cyclist. He is now a broadcaster on cycling, notably the Tour de France. He raced in seven editions of the Tour, finishing five, and gained a reputation for his ability to suffer over long mountain stages.-Cycling career:Born in Widnes,...
, Paul Watson
Paul Watson (cyclist)
Paul Watson is a former professional English road racing cyclist from Milton Keynes. He was national road race champion, raced in the Tour de France and made headlines finishing 6th in the Belgium classic La Flèche Wallonne.-Road:19841985...
, Jon Clay
Jon Clay
Jonathan Clay, better known as Jonny Clay is a British former professional track and road racing cyclist. A silver medalist in the individual pursuit at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Clay was also part of the team pursuit line up which took the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.A...
and former Manchester Wheelers
Manchester Wheelers' Club
-Formation and early history:The club was formed on 7 July 1883, as Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, the name being changed to Manchester Wheelers' Club in 1890.The Manchester Wheelers are the most successful cycling club in Britain having produced countless international riders and several World...
team mate Jeff Williams
Jeff Williams (cyclist)
Jeffrey "Jeff" Williams is an English former professional road racing cyclist from Manchester. He rode for Great Britain at the Olympic Games, and won several national championship titles.-Cycling career:...
. In his first season with Raleigh he won the British National Road Race Championships
British National Road Race Championships
The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
. Brian Cookson
Brian Cookson
Michael Brian Cookson OBE is a road racing cyclist from Lancashire. He has been president of British Cycling since 1997, after becoming a member of an emergency committee to rescue it from insolvency in 1996. He has been credited for turning the sport around since taking on his unpaid role as...
, later president of the British Cycling Federation, said: "I remember, as a commissaire
Commissaire
Commissaire may refer to:*Commissaire , an official in competitive cycle sport, analogulous to a referee or judge*Commissaire de police, a French police rank...
, following Mark throughout his successful breakaway to win the national pro road race title in 1986, when he simply rode away from some of the greatest names in the sport."
Bell was often labelled as a sprinter
Cycling sprinter
A cycling sprinter is a road bicycle racer or track racer who can finish a race very explosively by accelerating quickly to a high speed, often using the slipstream of another cyclist or group of cyclists tactically to conserve energy.-The road sprinter:...
and won his first two stages in the Milk Race at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
from bunch sprints. However Bell disputed this tag as he said “I sprint better from a small group than from a bunch. I’d say, basically, that on my day I’m a strong rider that has the ability to nick a sprint or go alone in a breakaway.”
In 1988 he joined Emmelle-MBK riding alongside Graham Jones
Graham Jones (cyclist)
Graham Jones is a former professional English road racing cyclist from Manchester, England. He rode in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. He is often described as one of the classiest riders that the UK has produced, but his career was hindered by being over raced in his early days, and by...
. He retired at the end of the 1988 season.
Later life
Bell had repeated health trouble after he stopped racing, including alcoholism. He wrote on a web site in 2008: "After stopping racing, I was dogged with alcoholism which at present I am on top of, but I am partially temporarily disabled with DVT deep vein thrombosisDeep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
damage to my lower right leg and foot and also have osteomyelitis damage to my left shoulder requiring a replacement shoulder operation." He was found dead in January the following year.
His brother, Tony
Tony Bell
Tony Bell is a freelance writer and journalist, known for his whats he on column in Cycling Weekly, where he was a columnist between 1994 and 2006...
, also a former professional, said: "Mark battled with a lot of his own problems in his last years, but, when he was on top of things and doing well, he was a lovely man.”
Palmarès
1978- 1st National junior road race series
1979
3rd British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Amateur)
1981
- 2nd Stage 1, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Bournemouth - 1st Stage 7, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, York - 1st Stage 12, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Blackpool - 1st
British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Amateur) - 2nd Newton
1982
- 3rd London - Bradford
- 9th Commonwealth GamesCycling at the 1982 Commonwealth GamesThese page represents the results at the Cycling Competition at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.-Individual Road Race :-Team Time Trial :-1.000m Time Trial:-1.000m Match Sprint:-4.000m Individual Pursuit:...
, Road race - 1st Lincoln International GP
- 1st Stage 11, Milk RaceTour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, Harrogate
1983
- 1st Overall Étoile de Sud
- 1st Stage, Étoile de Sud
- 1st Archer Grand PrixArcher Grand Prix cycle race- History :The Archer Grand Prix has been run annually for over fifty years, organised by Stuart Benstead of the Archer Road Club . It has been descried by British Cycling as a "long running classic". The first edition was held in 1956 and won by British rider, Alfred Howling...
1984
- DNF Olympic GamesCycling at the 1984 Summer OlympicsThe cycling competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles consisted of three road cycling events and five track cycling events. For the first time, women's cycling events were included in the Olympic program, with a single event, the individual road race...
, Road race
1985
- 1st Delyn Grand Prix
- 2nd Derby
- 3rd British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional) - 2nd Shrewsbury
1986
- 64th Overall Nissan ClassicTour of IrelandThe Tour of Ireland is a bicycle stage race held in August. The first race debuted in 1953 and ran until 1957. It was revived in 1965 and ran until 1985. In 1985 the 5 day Nissan International Classic took over as the Tour of Ireland. This lasted for 8 years until 1992...
- 1st British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional) - 2nd Tom Simpson Memorial
- 1st Douglas Kermesse
1987
- 2nd Norwich
- 20th British National Road Race ChampionshipsBritish National Road Race ChampionshipsThe British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually.-History:...
(Professional)