Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-17
AUSTRALIAN IS
VICTOR IN MAIN
BICYCLE EVENTS
WALKER WINS TWO PROFESS
Sl0NAL RACES
CHAMPION LAWSON SECURES
ONLY THIRD PLACES
Contests at Saucer Track FOR Cyehsts
Are Exciting, and Some Excellent
Scores Are Made by Two
Wheel Riders

IF was "Walker' day at the F1esta
park stadium yesterday, and the MUS
Australian cycle champion hao @ tile
honor Of crossing the tape first In the
two main professional events In tne
professional one-mile handicap rae
Walker, with handicap Oh Ten yaaus; :y.n1
sprinted away from held coilposeu
Of the hest bicycle racers in the World,
CLOSELY followed by his fellow country
man, Billie Palmer. ,,.-
Iyor Lawson, the Salt Lake ClCy
champion; Charlie Crebs. also of SAT-
Lake. and Saxey Williams, the New
York sprinter, gave chase, Dut Waikel
was not to be beaten. he won the rae
with two yards to spare, followed py
Palmer and for the second time the
mighty Lawson bowed to defeat, fnsh-
ing in third place. This race was the
most exciting event of the afternoon
and the crowd went frantic Wneh
Walker began his spurt in the last zap
The riders had been playing waiting
game, none seemingly anxious 20 90
the pacemaking. Walker waited Tor an
opportunity and made the break that
won the race.
Again in the three-mDe professional
lap race Walker shot to the fore AT Sne
finish. Lawson got bad sGart IN tnls
race and was pocketed in ehe second
mile This race was featured by bril-
liant spurts, as the management ofered
special prizes of 81 to the loader at
the end of each half lap. Crebs, who
made his debut as a professional rider
a week ago, led for the first seven laps,
thereby winning 81. The pace was too
strenuous for him and he dropped ouS
before the end.
Walker Rides Cautiously
Walker rode a careful race and held
his strength in reserve. not participat-
ing in the spurts. Lawson rode eau
tiously, but it is evident this great
rider has not yet struck his gait.
williams, the New Yorker, did some
sensational sprnting in this race, as
did Farley Giles. At the halfway
post it looked like a sure win for Sam
uelson, but again Walker came to the
front in a phenomenal burst of speed
and breezed across the tape winner.
Samuelson finished second, Lawson
third and, Palmer fourth. Furman. the
Los Angeles rider, who defeated Law
son a week ago, did not ride as well
yesterday, and the best he could win
was fifth place.
Ten events were on the program and
the sport was enjoyed by a large
crowd. Starter William R. Ruess kept
the riders on the move, and no delays
or accidents happened to mar an after
noon of exciting sport
That the revival of bicycle racing in
Los Angeles is appreciated was evident
from the enthusiasm manifested in yes
terday's contests
The first race was the one-mile nov
ice race, for riders who have yet to
have their names booked as winners.
Monnier, the Los Angeles youth, made
a runaway race of the event, finishing
in hxya full bo1 1af1
was the youngest and smallest man
entered, and the manner i'm which he
got away from the rest of the field put
the crowd in good humor for the other
races. Dewar and Oliver had a merry
race for second place. Dewar nosing
out in the final sprint with Oliver third.
Fast Riding Developed
The first heat in the amateur half
mile open race developed some fast rid
ing. Williamson, the Oakland sprinter,
was in fine shape and won the heat
Dye of Los Angeles and Burns were
second and third, respectively. The time
for the heat was 1 minute IA seconds.
The first heat of the professional
one-mile handicap race brought out a
fast field. The surprise of this event
was the failure of Samuelson to quail
ify. Walker, with a ten-yard handi-
cap, finished first Furman, 20-yard
handicap, second; Bardgett, 50-yard
handicap, third, and Lawson, who was
on scratch, just barely qualified for
the final by nosing out fourth place
The time was minutes 21 3-5 seconds
The second heat of the amateur half
mile open race was won by Long of
Los Angeles, with Florentine second
and Berryessa third.
Crebs made a runaway race of the
second heat of the professional one
mile handicap race With start of
seventy yards he soon overlook the
rest of the field and won easily. Dad"
Tompkins, heralded as the champion
of Santa Monica, was entered in this
event, but despite the fact that he was
given handicap of 165 yards he was
distanced. Palmer and Achorn were
the others to qualify.
Amateurs Pursuit Race Given
A novel race, called the amateur
pursuit race, followed In this race the
contestants were placed equal dis
tances apart about the saucer track
The rule of the race was that as soon
as a contestant had been passed hel
must retire. The last man on the
track that was not headed by any
contestant was declared the winner
This race caused much amusement
and brought out some consistent form
Oii IiiS part VI bGTTyeSSd,
and McNeill Mcneil had the stay
ing qualities and after three and one
half miles of sprinting overlook Ber-
ryessa and won the race. Florentine
finished third. The time for the three
and one-half miles was 9 minutes 9OI
seconds.
The three-mile professional lap race
furnished the best sport of the meet.
Eighteen of the best cyclists in the
game entered and Walker showed the
best form, winning in a hard-fought
contest with Samuelson second. Law
son did not seem to be able to follow
the pace of Walker, and the little
champion was given an ovation as he
crossed the line in first position. Law
son landed third money, with Palmer
fourth and Furman fifth. The time |
for the three miles was 6 minutes 3S
seconds.
Williamson surprised the talent by
coping the final heat of the amateur
half-mile race. Berryessa and Nc |
Neill were regarded as favorites, but
the Oakland racer had a bunch of reA |
serve speed up his sleeve, and in the
final lap swooped across the track, a |
winner on half yard Mcneil fin
ished second with Florentine and Ber-
ryessa in the order named.
MaLae caoond N;a4a.u