Remembering the rebel riders who changed the face of British cycling forever
It was an event unlike any the country had seen before. Thousands jostled for position outside the park, cheering wildly as they caught a fleeting glimpse of the spectacle.
Eighty years ago this week, Wolverhampton hosted the finale of Britain's first cycle race to be held legally on Britain's roads, after a course that wound its way through Mid Wales and Shropshire. And for a country still in the depths of war, it was just the tonic the people needed.
"It was probably the biggest landmark race in British history," says Dave Dungar, of the Wolverhampton Society.
The event began in the Welsh border town of Llangollen and wound its way through Shropshire, before finishing in Wolverhampton's West Park – which will be the start and finish point of the cycling time trials in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.
For Dave, the 1942 race has a very personal significance – second place was taken by Cecil James Anslow, the man who would become his stepfather.
"He tried to get me into cycling when I was a teenager, he bought me a bike, but I was never really interested," says Dave, 68, who lives in Pattingham.
"He was always at his happiest when he was outdoors on his bike."
Legend has it that Anslow would have won the 59-mile race had he not got lost with the finishing post almost in sight.
"The story goes that they got there before the marshals were ready, so there was nobody there when they got to Tettenhall.
"He went the long way round Tettenhall Green, allowing Albert Price to overtake him right at the end.
"If that was true, it would be quite ironic as we moved to a house just off Tettenhall Green."
The race, which raised money for the Express & Star's Comforts Fund to help those serving in the Second World War, was the brainchild of another Wolverhampton cycling legend, Percy Stallard. But while it might have brought plenty of excitement, it was also mired in controversy, even leading to Stallard being suspended by the National Cyclists' Union.
Mass-start road racing, where cyclists all started together and competed to be first at the finishing line, were becoming increasingly popular in mainland Europe in the late 19th century, with the Tour de France and Tour of Italy enjoying great popularity. But police in the UK were concerned about the disruption they were causing, and effectively put a stop to them in 1894. The National Cycling Union officially banned such races three years later, and instead opted to hold "time trials", where "inconspicuously clothed" competitors started the route at different times. Ironically, it is a similar event, the "time trials", which will form Wolverhampton and Dudley's contribution to the Commonwealth Games in August this year.
