Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-23
FOR The WHEELMEN.
The Plan for Selecting the Team
a.t.Hl ffr
To Go to Vienna.
New England Newspaper Men Give Their
Assistance to the Movement-Gossp
for Users of the Bike.


The cycling writer's on the represents
ative New England papers took a long
step in the right direction, when, at
their run together in Boston Thursday
evening, they decided to lend their aid
to the scheme of sending team of rep
resentative racing men TO uphold the
honor Of this country at the internation-
al championships in Vienna next Aug
ust 1t was the League Of American
Wheelmen that first organized the in
ternational event, and the first meet
was held in connection with the world S
fair at Chicago in 1898. In that year and
the following, American riders carried
off their share of the honors, but for the
past two years the greatest cycling
country ON earth has had not single
representative in the races. Efforts
have been made, to be sure, TO have this
country represented again, but those eff
forts, principally through lack of proper
management, have never resulted sue
cessfully. The newspaper men had
done their share to arouse interest, but
the promoters themselves took hold Of
the idea somewhat half-heartedly. The
result was that no American rider left
these shores either in '96 OF '97, to up
hold our honor In the internationals
against the fastest men of all Europe.
The newspaper men were naturally
disappointed to have to chronicle only
failures in that direction. Consequent
ly, early this winter, they started among
themselves a movement, having as its
object the sending of a first-class team
to Vienna, where the championships of
'9S are to be held. They did this in the
belief that if such thing could be
done, the press writers would be the
men to accomplish it, and, with no
other motive in view than to show the
world of what sort of stuff America is
made, they issued the first notice. In
all sections Of the country ''the pencil
push" commended the scheme and
promised assistance. In no section was
the outlook diseouraging, SO, with pros
poets of success from the very outset,
the boys determined to go ahead. The
country was divided into divisions, each
with a local organization. These SUBJ
organizations have now all been effect
ed New England being the last to get
into gear. But at Thursday nights
meeting. permanent officers and an eX-
ecutive. committee were selected and the
New England scribes will now begin
hustling.
The team to be sent across the water
will be selected by competitive racing
Each district will, by a series of race
meets various sections of it's terri
tory, weed out the poor men. Those
who get places in the trial meets will
be brought together in some one city
of the division, and there race for the
three places. This will be done in New
England, and likewise in the ten other
divisions Then will come the final test.
The winners of the final Keats at the
division meets viii race at either Louis
vile, Philadelphia or Boston. That race
will be q survival of the fittest in both
the amateur and professional classes.
The men who get first, second or third
In that final will be the ones who will
go to Vienna. BY this means, interest
all over the country will be aroused.
and the wheelmen, for whom the news
paper men are constantly working, will
have the opportunity of settling the
much -xexed questions of local, state
and national championships as they
never have before.
The expense of sending a team of six
men, together with trainer to Vienna,
IS roughly estimated at from $4,000 to
$4,000. This sum, it is expected, win be
made from the preliminary meets that
take place, 50 that the general public
VIII not be called upon to contribute a
cent for the venture. They will, of
course, be expected to attend the race
meets in their own sections, but for the
money theyipaY out in admission, they
will witness first-class racing. Each sec
tion meet, although under the general
supervision Of the executive committee
of the division, will be conducted by the
newspaper men of the section. They
will attend to the entries, to the pro-
gram and WI atever is cleared will be
turned over to the division treasurer,
who, in, turn, will contribute his sum
total to the national treasurer
In New England the executive COM
mittee has not yet determined in what
cities the tria. meets will take place.
Worcester will surely be one Of them.
Providence, Boston and Springfield will
be others. New Bedford will be includ-
ed, and probably Keene, N. H., Port
land, Me, Hartford, Bridgeport and
some other places not yet mentioned.
1t is not likely, for obvious reasons, that
the trial meets will take place upon the
same day. While the two or three
races, open only to riders of the section
In which the meet is held, will be the
events will not stop there. A number
of open races, both amateur and profes-
sional, for riders from any part of the
country, win be contested, thus round
ing out the program to it's usual length.
AS in every race meet, prizes will be of
fered toNthe place winners Of every
race, thus making it the same as an
ordinary race meet, with the special
feature added to the program. All the
section meets will have been pulled off
by the first Of June, and it is hoped that
by the first of July the team selected
will be on it's way to Austria, in order
that the men may get sufficiently ac-
eustomed to the change of climate be-
fore the day of the all-important cham
pionship.
Such in brief is an outline of the
scheme that is now interesting the
Mheelman the country over. The means