Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-21
OCEAN TOO ROUGH
FOR LLOYD THOMAS
American Boy Has Trying Ex-
perience on Way Home from
Brussels.
SIX-DAY RACE A HARD ONE

Lloyd Thamas, the California cy-
clist, was a passenger on the Kron-
prinzessin Cecilie of the North Ger
man Lloyd line, which locked in
New York Thursday. Thomas left
Brussels Immediately after the Brus-
sells six-day race, in which he COM
peted with Eddie Root. and sailed
for America a week ago last We'd
nesday. The big German liner had
a very rough voyage, the toughest
in, the long sea experience of her
master, Captain Polack, who has
been a seafaring man for forty years.
Thomas said the liner did everything
but sink and he was mighty glad
to set foot on land again.
I'm through with that ocean
stuff" remarked the cyclist when in
terviewed by a Star reporter. 1.-THE
fury of the Atlantic from the time
we started until we reached the Hook
was something terrible and I'll never
go abroad again-rm cured. l was
tired and sore from the Brussels six
day race and being seasick and
| frightened almost to death in addi-
ton was some experience. At times
the boat could not make any head.
way at all and we were thirty-siS
hours late in arriving
Thomas had much to say in re
CARDS to the Brussels six-day race
He was on one of the three Ameri.
can teams that competed in the race
which was managed by Floyd Nc.
| Farland. the manager of the Newark
Velodrome.
| Brussels six-Day Race a Hard One.
"All of the American boys" said
the Californian in discussing the
race, agreed that it was the hardest
six-day race ever run. We broke the
worlds record for IA hours and also
| the 142-hour record made in New
York last year. There were riders
in the race that | never heard of be-
fore, mostly Belgians, who are the
| greatest six-day bears / ever rode
against They were all hard-boiled
and never did get tired. They were
responsible for the new record. These
Belgians would set the pace all the
| time and never thought of riding
down on the fiat. When some rider
would jump from the rear with one
of these strong fellows out in from
they would never swing up for some
one else to go after the man who
jumped. They would keep right on
get the man in front. and then sticl
in a few hot laps that would burr
us all off. / never saw anything
like it.
How Lap Was Lost.
Root and l lost a lap on tht
| twenty-fith hour in the first big
| jam of the race. Eddie was on the
track at the time and / was in my
| bunk sleeping. Eddie was shaker
off and they got me out as quickly
as possible. When 1 reached tbs
| track Root had left the track anc
| was sitting on his cot I jumped
into the race and made up all but
few yards of our lost distance. II
Root had come on the track and re.
lieved me we would have made III
our lap, but Eddie refused to get or
his bike. Bob Spears pleaded witt
him to go on, but Root punched
| Spears in the nose when the latter
asked him to relieve me. We con
| tinued in the race and on Thursda.
| gained two laps on the field, but thu
officials refused to credit us with the
laps. Moran and Mcnamara and
Lapize and MIGUEL went with US
when we gained our laps, but tn
officials gave them the same raw
| deal. Hs @
Moran was one of the best mel
| in the race. He was the Moran o
old and was battling all week. Nc
| Namara was not as good as Moran
| George Cameron rode a great race
| the last three days, but he was no
| in condition when the race started
| The star of the race was Johnny
! Stol, who won the final sprint. He
had wonderful jump and won the
| primes he went after with ease.
Belgians We're Unfair.
1.-THE Belgians wanted a Belgian
| team to win the race and they were
unfair to the Americans and the
Frenchmen. Stol rode with Van
| houwaert, the Belgian long-distance
champion, and this gave him a pull
with the officials. They even tried tC
make a Belgian out of Johnny. He
rode in the Belgian national colors
all week, but when he came out fol
the final sprint at the finish he was
wearing a sweater of the national
| colors of Holland. The officials
made him go in his cabin and put
| on the Belgian colors again. After
Stol won the final sprint the GROVE
cheered for Vanhouwaert, picked
him up and carried him around the
track on their shoulders, ignoring
Stol entirely.
"A combination of five Belgian
teams went after all the primes
and got most of them. And there
was a prime offered about every ter
minutes. Mcnamara went after q
big prime one night and the Bel
gian prime trust deliberately
knocked him down.
Race Financial Success.
1.-THE race was success financially
and the riders got considerable
money The track is the finest l ever
rode on and the building is really
wonderful. | saw the Spears Van
Bever match race and this Van
Bever is some bike rider Spears
used very bad Judgment in the race,
while VanBever's judgment was per-
feet"
Thomas, who is under contract
with the Cycle Racing Association
will remain in Newark until the
Philadelphia, track is opened for
training. Thomas is going to follow
pace this season. He rode one paced
race in Paris and was defeated.