National Cyclists' Union
Encyclopedia
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
. It merged with the Tricycle Association in 1882 and was renamed the National Cyclists' Union in 1883.
The British weekly, The Bicycle, said: "Even during the insecurity of its early years, the union found that it had substantial problems to fight. Foremost among them was a proposed amendement to the Highways Act, then before Parliament, which threatened to check very seriously the use of bicycles on the road. The cyclist of those days was considered a nuisance whether he rode a bicycle, a tricycle, or a velocipede
, and was banned by municipal bodies and corporations all over the country. Here was a matter affecting the very existence of cyclists. The Bicycle Union, then barely five months old, was called upon to act promptly. By instant and energetic action a rejection of the venemous amendment was secured.
, proposed to create an International Cycling Association
, open to national organisations whose views of amateurism were similar to its own, and to organise world championships. The International Cycling Union was the forerunner of the Union Cycliste Internationale
.
The NCU defined amateurism in English races and banned the American sprinter, Arthur Augustus Zimmerman
when he appeared to be sponsored by the Raleigh Bicycle Company
. It insisted the organisers of the first Bordeaux-Paris
met its own ideals before allowing British riders to take part. When George Pilkington Mills
won, the NCU would not recognise the victory, or consider Mills still an amateur, until he proved he had no help from the cycle factory for which he worked.
Such a ban did not operate in other countries and massed road racing continued as before. That made little difference to the British because the few international events to which they sent riders, notably the Olympic and world championship road races, had been run as individual time trial
s. It was as a 100-mile [162 km] time-trial, in Shropshire
, that Britain organised the world championship road race in 1922. Then in 1933 the UCI
decided that championships would be massed-start events. The NCU organised its 1933 world championship trial as a circuit race at Brooklands
near Weybridge
in Surrey
. This and Donington Park
in the north Midlands remained the sole venues for massed start racing, on mainland Britain until 1942, along with the Snaefell Mountain Course
on the neighbouring Isle of Man
.
The trial led to a series of races at Brooklands, organised by the Charlotteville cycling club under Bill Mills, a professional rider who founded the weekly magazine, The Bicycle. At the time, said the writer and team manager Chas Messenger
, "there were thousands riding in time trials and, apart from a once-in-a-while article in the cycling press, they knew little or nothing about road racing." The Brooklands races inspired some riders and one, Percy Stallard
, took advantage of low wartime traffic in 1942 to organise a race on the open road from Llangollen
to Wolverhampton
. The NCU banned him for life and he and others formed the British League of Racing Cyclists
as a rival.
) remained rivals for 17 years, a position which split British cycling. The BLRC's position was that racing on the road was not illegal, that it did not obstruct other travellers, and that it gave England and Wales the experience to compete internationally. The NCU had entrusted its wartime administration to an emergency committee which did not have power to change major rules. The journalist John Dennis said the NCU still believed that racing on the road threatened all cycling and did not want to make any change while so many members were out of the country, fighting in the war. The two sides maintained their positions when peace came in 1945 and for many years each banned the members of the other.
The rivalry ended in 1959 when the two merged to form the British Cycling Federation
.
for 21 years from 25 March 1942.
Bicycle racing
Bicycle racing is a competition sport in which various types of bicycles are used. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, bike trials, and cycle speedway. Bicycle racing is recognised as an Olympic sport...
in Great 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...
. It merged with the Tricycle Association in 1882 and was renamed the National Cyclists' Union in 1883.
The British weekly, The Bicycle, said: "Even during the insecurity of its early years, the union found that it had substantial problems to fight. Foremost among them was a proposed amendement to the Highways Act, then before Parliament, which threatened to check very seriously the use of bicycles on the road. The cyclist of those days was considered a nuisance whether he rode a bicycle, a tricycle, or a velocipede
Velocipede
Velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle....
, and was banned by municipal bodies and corporations all over the country. Here was a matter affecting the very existence of cyclists. The Bicycle Union, then barely five months old, was called upon to act promptly. By instant and energetic action a rejection of the venemous amendment was secured.
Activities and amateurism
The NCU erected road signs warning cyclists of steep descents and other hazards. It was prompted by a member, J George Jnr, who suggested them in 1878. The idea was taken up by the Earl of Albemarle, who became president of the NCU. The NCU shared signposting with the Cyclists Touring Club but after 10 years could no longer afford it and the CTC took on the whole job. The NCU also produced publications to help cyclists tour Britain. It ran racing championships, at first open to anyone in the world. Its championships were the world's most prestigious and considered unofficial championships of the world. The NCU, which had a strict definition of an amateurAmateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
, proposed to create an International Cycling Association
International Cycling Association
The International Cycling Association was the first international body for cycle racing. It started in 1892 to establish a common definition of amateurism and to organise world championships...
, open to national organisations whose views of amateurism were similar to its own, and to organise world championships. The International Cycling Union was the forerunner of 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 defined amateurism in English races and banned the American sprinter, Arthur Augustus Zimmerman
Arthur Augustus Zimmerman
Arthur Augustus Zimmerman was one of the world's greatest cycling sprint riders and winner of the first world championship in 1893...
when he appeared to be sponsored by the Raleigh Bicycle Company
Raleigh 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...
. It insisted the organisers of the first Bordeaux-Paris
Bordeaux-Paris
The Bordeaux–Paris professional cycle race was one of Europe's Classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately - more than twice most single-day races...
met its own ideals before allowing British riders to take part. When George Pilkington Mills
George Pilkington Mills
George Pilkington Mills was the dominant English racing cyclist of his generation, and winner of the inaugural Bordeaux–Paris cycle race. He frequently cycled from Land's End to John o' Groats, holding the world record time on six occasions between 1886 and 1895. He was a member of the Anfield and...
won, the NCU would not recognise the victory, or consider Mills still an amateur, until he proved he had no help from the cycle factory for which he worked.
Road racing
The NCU banned all cycle racing on public roads in 1890, fearing it would again jeopardise the position of other cyclists. It compelled members to hold their races on velodromes, although the word was not known then, or on closed roads such as in parks and airfields. The only races allowed on public roads were time-trials, in which riders competed against the clock at intervals, and distance and place-to-place record attempts.Such a ban did not operate in other countries and massed road racing continued as before. That made little difference to the British because the few international events to which they sent riders, notably the Olympic and world championship road races, had been run as 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...
s. It was as a 100-mile [162 km] time-trial, in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, that Britain organised the world championship road race in 1922. Then in 1933 the UCI
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....
decided that championships would be massed-start events. The NCU organised its 1933 world championship trial as a circuit race at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands 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...
near Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. This and Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
in the north Midlands remained the sole venues for massed start racing, on mainland Britain until 1942, along with the 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 the neighbouring 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...
.
The trial led to a series of races at Brooklands, organised by the Charlotteville cycling club under Bill Mills, a professional rider who founded the weekly magazine, The Bicycle. At the time, said the writer and team manager 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...
, "there were thousands riding in time trials and, apart from a once-in-a-while article in the cycling press, they knew little or nothing about road racing." The Brooklands races inspired some riders and one, Percy Stallard
Percy Stallard
Percy Thornley Stallard was an English racing cyclist who reintroduced massed-start road racing on British roads in the 1940s....
, took advantage of low wartime traffic in 1942 to organise a race on the open road from Llangollen
Llangollen
Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...
to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. The NCU banned him for life and he and others 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...
as a rival.
Rivalry with the BLRC
The NCU and the BLRC (British League of Racing CyclistsBritish 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...
) remained rivals for 17 years, a position which split British cycling. The BLRC's position was that racing on the road was not illegal, that it did not obstruct other travellers, and that it gave England and Wales the experience to compete internationally. The NCU had entrusted its wartime administration to an emergency committee which did not have power to change major rules. The journalist John Dennis said the NCU still believed that racing on the road threatened all cycling and did not want to make any change while so many members were out of the country, fighting in the war. The two sides maintained their positions when peace came in 1945 and for many years each banned the members of the other.
The rivalry ended in 1959 when the two merged to form the British Cycling Federation
British Cycling
British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man...
.
Herne Hill
The National Cyclists Union leased the velodrome 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:...
for 21 years from 25 March 1942.