Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-01-24
MANY BIKE STARS ABROAD
UNKNOWN TO AMERICANS
Imposing Array of Little-Known
Cycle Luminaries Dwarfs
Our Representation.
DUPRE WONDERFUL RIDER
Although Blind in One Eye.
Giant Frenchnan Is For
midable Opponent.
lfrom the Paris Correspondent Of this
Newark Evening starI

PARIS, Jan. 12.-There is certainly
an astonishing number Of great sprinf
riders In Europe-many more than
are known to the fans of America.
1t is not until one sees the foreigners
perform on this side of the pond. on
tracks that they know and with riders
with whom they are familiar, that a
real line on their ability can be
CLEANED. There are riders here who
are probably considered second-raters
IN the States, but it would be a shame
to match them against our second
raters at home. But the riders to
whom l refer are not in the second
class here in Europe. It is merely be-
cause We have heard little of them
In America that causes us to associate
them with the second string men OF
the continent
Great Riders of Europe.
The great riders of Europe who are
known TO American bike enthusiasts
either by reputation or by their per-
fornances on the tracks of America
are Walter Rutt. Emil Friol, Thor
valid Elegaard. Leon Hourlier. Andre
Perehicot and Francesca yerri. They
are the first raters any VeIodrome fan
would name right off the reel. Ruf
there are just about twice that num-
Der OF tirst-raters here. In the reg
lister OF the elite OF the continental
sprlnters the names of Gabriel Pou-
ialn, Julian Pouehois, Amedo PoIie-
ar, otto Never, Cesare Morreti, Mer-
guer, Oliveri and big Victor Dupre
could not be LETT out. There are At
least fourteen first-raters here which
is quite a string compared with your
Irst-rate Yankees, who are not over
three IN number-Frank Kramer.
FRANK Cavanagh and Joe Fogler com
prising the entire field of your first
division Yankees. Even Australia.
With Jackie Clark, Aft Goullet, An
Grenda, Bob Spears and Reggie Nc
Namara, outnumbers the Yankees.
Dupre Ideal for Splinter.
Among the little known stars here
who have impressed me is Dupre the
giant F'renchman. Dupre is a big
man here, both in reputation and
build, and were it not for a physical
aftliction | believe that he would be
the best match race rider in Europe
In point of build he is ideal for q
sprlnter, and his physical develop
- iAatsltl14lEuL. he Is stronger
than any rider here. with the possible
exception of Rutt, and has wonder
ful burst of speed in the sprints. and
great jump, and it is his affliction
mat probably keeps him from being a
champion.
Has Only One Eye.
Dupre has lost the sight in his right
eye and this is such a handicap in
competition he is often beaten by rid
ers OF far less speed. All the riders
take advantage of this defect in the
Dig fellow. In the heats of all of the
Dig races here. there is one star ard
from two to four second-raters. and
the second-raters often keep Dupre
out OF the finals by beating him in
the heats. Usually they work to-
gether to do the trick 1t is impossi-
Die Tor Dupre to look around ON the
right side to see what the riders re-
hind him are doing. They force him
TO the front and keep him
guessing. He invariably rides up FIVE
or SIX feet from the pole and one
rider will come through on the in
side. thus attracting the big fellows
attention. while the rider he is work.
ing with will jump from the outside.
They may pull this stunt on the first
lap or the second or third. but al
ways early in the race. Then 1t is
up to Victor to chase the man in
front. The others lay on and will
not take any pace. If the rider whu
jumped does not win. the one who
laid back and got the advantage of
pace usually comes through to VIC
tory.
Stars Wallop Him, Too.
When he is riding against a star
he Is just as bad off. for the stars
lick him single-handed He is a big
gear rider and cannot Jockey. and the
stars wallop him by intermittent blur
jumps on the pole and on the outside
until they get a good angle 70 get
| away to a commanding lead. On ac-
count of his af1iction. Dupre is very
popular here, especially with "vege-
tables (the bleacherites) who try to
keep him posted as to what the other
fellows are doing. but this coaching
rarely meets with success. Big Du-
pre-, shy an eve. is about as badly ef
as he would be were he a leg shy.
A Bear in Teaming.
But when he is teaming with
rider who can land him in the lead on
the last lap Dupre is a bear" and
| usually unbeatable. With a limited
range of vision on the right-hand side
OF the track he has to ride with TT sat
caution. but when he is in tow" or
another rider he Just watches the
man in front until he is turned loose.
Would Be Badly Handicapped.
| If Dupre had the use of both optics
! he would be a great man in our five
and ten-mile opens at the Velodrofne.
But under his handicap he would be
in a terrible plight, in those big.
rough fields. have never seen the
/ a. -
tracks here. but am told that he has
a far better chance on the big Pare
DIES Prince and Velodrome dButfalo
tracks than on the smaller Velodrome
d. Hiver, the winter track.
Held Record Three Years.
There is no doubt about Dupre's
speed in the sprints. For three years
he held the record here for the fast
est last lap in a race on the Nelo-
dome dHiver. and Frank Kramer
was the rider who lowered the mark.
This was in a race in which kramer
| defeated Hourlier last winter. Dupre's
record is a brilliant one. In 1909 he
won the championship of the world
at Copenhagen. and in the champions
ship OF Europe that same year he
finished in a dead heat with Thor.
valid Ellegaard. He has been placed
in the final of the Grand Prize OF
Paris four times. finishing second
ence and third three times. Last
winter he finished second in the Paris
six-day race and at this writing he Is
riding the six-day race here and ap-
pears to have a fair chance to win
With Leon Georget as a partner he
rode in the New York six-day race
of 1907 and finished third.
Wants to Ride Here.
Dupre has expressed a desire to
race in America. and il 1t were not
| for his affection he would be signed
/ by Floyd mcfarland. the manager
! ~ t1Ae Csxcia Pacing Associa ton who