The King: Alf Engers

Alfred Robert Engers, better known as Alf Engers was the first British Time Trialist to record a time under 50 minutes for the 25 mile distance. (40.23 Km.)

He did this phenomenal ride on August, 5th 1978, in a time of 49 minutes and 24 seconds. This meant that he averaged 30.36 mph (48.87 Kmph.) for the distance.

A measure of the greatness of this ride was that this record stood for 13 more years.

One also has to realize that this record was set in an era when there were no disc wheels, aero bars, skin-suits and aerodynamic helmets. Even to this day, there are only a handful of riders who can manage a sub fifty minute ride for 25 miles.

Alf Engers was no youngster when he set this record; he was 38 years old with a career that had spanned almost two decades.

In fact he had originally set a new competition record for 25 miles at aged 19 in 1959, with a time of 55 minutes, 11 seconds.

He was an interesting rider in that he not only trained and prepared himself physically for his rides, but before each event he would sit quietly and meditate, to prepare himself mentally for the task at hand.

By the 1970s Engers was a “Rock Star” in the British cycling community; he was known as “The King,” and like a Rock Star, his career was not without controversy.

He was constantly “at odds” with cycling officials, mostly those in the Road Time Trials Council, which was at that time the governing body of the sport.

In the early 1960s Alf briefly turned “Independent” which was a semi-professional class at the time, where riders could ride in both amateur and pro events. However, when Engers re-applied for amateur status in 1963 he was denied, again and again, and was not allowed to compete until 1968.

When one is “hated” by officials that govern a sport, it makes it difficult when that person is so good that he cannot really be ignored.

After his come back to the sport, Alf Engers answer was to break the 25 mile record, not once, but twice the following year in 1969.

Bringing the time down to 51 min. 59 sec., and later that year to 51:00.

This record stood until Alf himself broke it and put it out of reach in 1978.

Engers was constantly warned by officials throughout his career for his habit of riding down the center of the lane.

Whether he actually rode in the middle of the lane, or just a third of the way out from the edge, is not clear. This makes more sense to ride where the inside wheels of motor traffic run, where the road is smoothest, and cleanest, and there are less chances of a puncture.

In 1976 he was stopped by the police during a time trial event. He claimed he was on to a potential record breaking ride at the time. He was stopped for “riding dangerously,” and the RTTC suspended him for the rest of that season.

Even his sub 50 minuet record breaking ride in 1978, was marred in that the RTTC refused to ratify the record for several weeks, stating that Engers had once again, ridden dangerously by riding in the center of the lane. (See the “Cycling” headline on the left.)

To understand the mindset of officials running British time-trialing during that period, one only has to look at the history of bike racing in the UK. For so many years up until the 1960s the sport of time trialing was run like a secret society, publicity was shunned, and large crowds of spectators were discouraged from attending events.

Alf Engers, with his “Rock Star” persona brought large crowds whenever he rode, and that did not fit with the establishment that was the RTTC.

I never met Alf but from what I have heard, I can speculate that he most likely had a “Don’t give a shit,” attitude towards the officials, which probably didn’t help. But when one is “The King,” surely it is okay to have an attitude.

Engers was a trend setter, he was largely responsible for the 1970s craze of drilling holes in components to reduce weight, known as “Drillium.”

Another trend was “Fag Paper” clearances, where the wheel just barely cleared the frame tubes, on bikes built by Alec Bird, and Alan Shorter. (See the color “Cycling” picture near the top.)

Alf Engers set this record in spite of huge obstacles placed in the way of his career. He was banned from competing during most of the 1960s, and one has to realize these would have been his peak years as an athlete.

Most would have quit competitive cycling altogether under these circumstances. The fact that he didn’t shows the pure grit, determination, and character of the man. There is a reason they called him “The King.” 

Here is a recent two part interview with Alf Engers in which he talks about that era, and his record. Here is the link to Part I, and Part II.

Here is a link to a firsthand account of the actual record breaking ride, by Gordon Hayes

                          

The Higginson Twins: Update

On May 1st this year, I wrote an article titled “The Higginson Twins: A Pedaling Phenomenon.”

I wrote about an event held on March 23rd, 1952; the Calleva 25 mile time trial, an event restricted to a single gear of 72 inches. (48 x 18)

This event would go down in history when the first three riders would complete the distance in less than one hour.

The first time the magic one hour had been broken for 25 miles on a 72 inch gear.

Stan Higginson was the winner with a time of 59min. 20sec. Stan’s twin brother Bernard Higginson was second in 59min. 48sec. Dave Keeler took third place with a time of 59min. 58sec. Les Inman was fourth in 1hr. 0min. 52sec.

As a result of my writing this piece, Stan Higginson contacted me. A recent picture (Above right.) shows a still fit looking Stan, now 78 years young. His brother Bernard is also well; they live some fifteen miles apart, in Worcestershire, England.

Stan also sent some pictures from that era, including one taken right after the Calleva 25 at the moment history had been made. The picture is below.

From left to right is Les Inman (4th.) Stan Higginson (1st.) Bernard Higginson (2nd.) Dave Keeler (3rd.) Extreme right is Ken Sparks who was the 3rd member of the winning Halesowen C&AC team. Stan and Bernard were the 1st and 2nd Halesowen club members. Sparks time was 1hr. 3min. 10sec. and gave the Halesowen Team a total winning time of 3-2-18

Stan also gave me some interesting tid bits of information. He and Bernard normally raced on a single fixed gear of 84.4 inches. (50 x 16) He said it suited their slight build of 5’ 9 1/2” (176.5cm.) weighing 129 lb. (58.5kg.) and their very low profile positions.

Throughout the winter they trained on 62 inch gear. (46 x 20) This no doubt gave the twins their fast pedaling abilities.

Between 1952 and 1955 they won seven British National 25 Mile Championship Medals. 3 firsts, 2 seconds, and a third. Stan Higginson broke competition record 3 times. Their team. Halesowen C&AC won 3 National Championships, and broke competition record 4 times.

Stan’s fastest 25 was 56min. 21sec. and Bernard’s fastest time was 57min. 05sec.

The caption under this 1953 picture (Above) reads: The fastest of the brilliant cycling twins now serving in the Royal Air Force, S. F. Higginson has won the 25 miles championship of the Road Time Trials Council for the past two years, and is the current record holder with a time of 56 min. 29 sec. In July this year (1953) he became the first rider to beat 57 minutes at the distance.

Picture above: Stan Higginson turning in the North Lancashire 25 (1955)

Picture above: Stan riding a pursuit race at Herne Hill, London Track, Good Friday Meeting 1952

An interesting foot note. The person who put Stan in touch with me was Lewin Chalkley, who is the owner of Stan’s old Holdsworth frame. The frame below, recently restored, looks very much like the one in the picture above

How a Single Ride Changed the Face of British Time Trialing

In England, in 1953, the top British time trialist was a man named Ken Joy. (Left.)

The previous year he had ridden a 100 miles in 4 hours and 6 minutes, which at that time was phenomenal.

In the early 1950s, British riders racing against the clock invariably rode on a single fixed wheel.

48 x 15, or 48 x 16 (86.4 inch or 81 inch.) would be a typical gear ratio used for 100 miles. Courses would be selected over the flattest possible terrain.

At the end of 1952 Ken Joy turned professional and was sponsored by Hercules, a large manufacturer of roadster bikes, located in Birmingham, England. As British time trialing did not have a professional category, the only thing open for Ken Joy, was to ride solo and attack the many place to place records and distance records under the auspices of the Road Records Association.

So when Ken Joy was invited to ride in the Grand Prix des Nations in 1953 it created tremendous excitement for the average British Club Rider. This famous French event was after all considered to be the unofficial World Time Trial Championship of Professional Cycling.

Britain was somewhat cut off and isolated from the rest of Europe as far as cycling was concerned. We were in our own little world of time trialing, and the time trials held on the continent of Europe were odd distances, and held on courses that were not always flat, so how did you compare.

There was much speculation in the weeks leading up to the event as to how well Ken Joy would do. After all he had to be in with a chance, 100 miles in 4 hours 6 minutes is not exactly hanging around, by any standard.

I was 17 years old at the time and in my second year of racing, mostly time trialing; I was definitely caught up in all the excitement. The Grand Prix des Nations was to be run over a distance of 142 kilometers, which was just over 88 miles, a distance that would suit Joy.

The event was held on a weekend, and a few of the major British newspapers had the results in Monday’s morning edition. However we had to wait until the following Wednesday when the “Cycling” magazine came out to get the full impact of what had transpired.

The event was won by a then unknown 19 year old French rider named Jacques Anquetil. Not only did he beat Ken Joy, he started 16 minutes behind the British rider and caught and passed him. A nineteen year old kid, just two years older than me, had trounced the best that Britain had to offer.

There were two British professional riders in the 1953 event; the other was Bob Maitland who's previous riding was mostly in NCU Mass Start Circuit Races. I seem to remember Maitland finished with a better time than Joy, but both were well down the field. Bob Maitland did in the mid 1950s, become part of the first British team to ride the Tour de France.

I remember well the above picture of Anquetil, low, areodynamic, with his hands curled around the slim Mafac brake hoods. His mechanic standing on the running board of the following car with a spare bike on his shoulder. This was a whole different world, a whole different level of bike racing.

This one ride changed the face of British time trialing. Anquetil used a five speed free-wheel, with 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 cogs. With a single 53 tooth chainwheel; it gave him a top gear of 102 inches. This was the highest ratio mechanically possible at that time. Soon after British time trialists would abandon fixed wheel and use five speed straight up 14 to 18, and later 13 to 17 free wheels.

Jacques Anquetil of course went on to become one of the great cyclists of all time. Winning the Grand Prix des Nations 9 times, and going on to become the first man to win the Tour de France five times.

The Grand Prix des Nations which started in 1932, and became one of the professional classics, was held annually until 2005 when it was abandoned after the UCI inaugurated an official World Time Trial Championship.

Footnote: If you haven't already done so, read this 3 part series: The History of British Cycle Racing. It tells of the ban on road racing in Britain that lasted 50 years, and how a handful of cyclists fought to get this ban lifted. Britain's current success in cycling is due in part to those who went before and dragged the sport out of the dark ages

The Higginson Twins: A Pedaling Phenomenon

In 1952, the year I started racing in England, to be able to ride a 25 mile time trial in under one hour was an achievement that only a few top riders in the country could lay claim.

The previous year 1951, the British Competition Record for the distance was a little over 57 minutes, and was held by North London rider Dave Keeler. Many of the top twenty-five milers of that era specialized in this distance, and was the only event they rode.

Two other 25 mile specialists who stood out were twenty something identical twin brothers Stan and Bernard Higginson from Halesowen in the Birmingham area. (Stan Higginson is pictured above.) They always competed in the same event and usually took first and second place.

Occasionally Bernard would beat his brother Stanley, but usually it was Stan who was the stronger of the two, but only by the narrowest of margins, a few seconds. Stan Higginson took the competition record from Keeler late in 1951, lowering the time to just over 56 minutes.

British time trials of that era, and especially the shorter distances were always ridden using a fixed wheel. Usually 86 inch (48 x 15) Most riders trained on a 65 inch gear (48 x 20) or 68 inch (48 x 19) throughout the winter months.

A very popular early season event was a medium gear 25 mile time trial were the gear was restricted to 72 inches (48 x 18) All competitors used the same single fixed gear. This leveled the playing field, and the ones who had learned to pedal fast throughout the winter months would come out on top.

So it was on Sunday March 23rd in 1952 on a perfect day with little wind the best 25 milers in the country gathered for the Calleva RC 72 inch Medium Gear Event, held on a North London course. There was a full field, this being the first event of the year where the top London and Midland riders would do battle.

History was made that morning, when three riders finished under the hour. As I said at the beginning of this piece, it was an achievement in the early 1950s for any rider to beat the hour for 25 miles; to do so on a 72 inch gear was phenomenal.

Stan Higginson won the event in 59 minutes, 20 seconds. This meant he was pedaling at over 118 revolutions per minute for 25 miles. That is some serious spinning, or twiddling as it was known back then.

Stan’s twin brother Bernard came in second with a time of 59 min. 48 sec. and the former competition record holder Dave Keeler was third with a time of 59 min. 58 sec. Incidentally, Stan Higginson’s winning ride that day was only two seconds slower than the record for that particular course done on unrestricted gears.

I remember this moment in British cycling history well. Although I was not at the actual event, I remember these times were talked about all over the UK in the weeks that followed.

There is very little information out there on riders of this era, and I wonder if the Higginson twins are still with us. Quite possible as they would be in their early eighties now.

I found one article on this event, in which the writer speculated that Dave Keeler may have been the first to beat the hour on a 72 inch gear. He may well have been, as he would have started and finished before the Higginsons on that day. But as I remember, this was the day that the first sub hour 72 inch gear ride was ever recorded in the UK.

Another tidbit of information about the Higginson twins. I remember reading in a Cycling Magazine article, when the twins boasted that they never trained, saying they were too lazy. However, they did state that they both rode their bikes to and from work each day.

The seven mile commute from their home to the Birmingham factory where they both worked was treated like a race between the two. The first out to his bike in the morning, and again at night leaving work, after strapping on his saddle bag, leaped on his bike and took off. The other would chase.

To say they didn’t train was not strictly true. What they were doing was probably the best preparation they could have done for a 25 mile time trial.

Stan and Bernard also competed in pursuit races on the track, and I'm pretty sure Stan Higginson was National Pursuit Champion on more than one occasion. But I can find no record at this time to confirm.

Off to the Races

Up until the mid 1960s many cyclists in England did not own a car; to get to a race they had to ride their bike. Just like the cyclist in the picture above, sprint rims and tubular tires (Sprints and Tubs.) were too expensive for everyday use, and were reserved for racing only.

Training and commuting to work were done on HP tires. (Clinchers.) The racing wheels were carried on two wheel carriers attached to the front wheel axel; the wheels then fastened to the handlebars with a pair of toe straps. These wheels and tires were only used for the duration of the event.

Time-trials always took place at the crack of dawn, so it was usually dark when the cyclist left home; the rider above has a battery lamp clipped to his handlebars. Also note the bike has mudguards and a rear luggage rack; these would be removed before the race, and re-fitted after for the ride home. Below is another innovative way to get to an event.

The pictures are from the Bernard Thompson collection. Bernard, who died in recent years, was a freelance cycling photographer whose pictures appeared in Cycling Magazine, from the 1950s through the 1980s. More great photos can be seen on CyclingInfo.co.uk/blog.

Bernard Thompson probably made most of his income selling prints to non-famous club riders. There would be 120 riders in most open time-trials; his strategy was to stand at a point where riders slowed to do a u-turn in the road and had to call out their race number to an event marshal.

He took a picture, noted the rider's race number, and then got the rider's names and addresses from the race organizer. Sending out a mass-mailing, he probably sold close to 120 prints every weekend. It was special for a regular club rider to get a nice picture by a professional photographer.

The picture above is of me riding in the National Championship 12 Hour Time-Trial in 1953. You won't find it in this collection, but it is a Bernard Thompson photograph. It is one of the many thousands taken by him over the years.
I remember Bernard Thompson taking that picture as clear as if it were yesterday. I was about an hour into the event and this was the first turn. (On the Great North Road somewhere near Biggleswade, I think.) I was out of the saddle picking up speed again when I saw him take the shot.
Right after he took it, I nodded and gave him a little smile. I had no idea who he was, so I was thrilled the following week when I got a note in the mail from Bernard Thompson, the famous “Cycling” photographer.