Greatest British female cyclist?

slim_boy_fat

A very interesting read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/31641006

Those records stood for a long time.

Grill

I'm surprised anyone needed reminding...

salsiccia1

Greatest British cyclist.

marcusjb

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Greatest British cyclist.

^ that

There's never been another cyclist, male or female, dominate across multiple disciplines for such a long time.

Incredible rider.

Lanterne_Rogue

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Greatest British cyclist.

I very nearly wrote a complaint to the BBC that they were selling her short - given the number of factors conspiring against her, the sustained level of competitiveness remains mind-boggling.

tonyf34

underlayunderlay wrote:

Salsiccia1 wrote:

Greatest British cyclist.

I very nearly wrote a complaint to the BBC that they were selling her short - given the number of factors conspiring against her, the sustained level of competitiveness remains mind-boggling.

Agreed, to me the greatest female cyclist ever anywhere, throughout time there are superhuman's who would excell in any era within their sports, BB is one of those very very select few.
Pathe news on BB's world road champion win
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/world ... AMPIONSHIP
And still going at a fair old lick in 1986 at the age of 49 having just won the 25 and 50mile TT just shortly before :shock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soep-G3SPJ8
She would have won half a dozen more pursuit world championships too if it hadnt being for the roid'd up Russians who bulked up so much they were essentially men

tonyf34

cyd190468 wrote:

Yes because only the Russians knew about steroids. :roll:

Quite right, the Americans and plenty of others were at it, but you know what when you see previously petite and slender young ladies turn into overly muscled she beasts in a couple of years get to the top of the pile and then fade away rapidly, well I'll let you figure it out!
And If you haven't seen BB then check her out..she doesn't even have particularly muscular legs even for someone whom trained huge amounts, if she was taking steroids then she should've asked for her money back..I don't think she could afford them anyway as an amateur even if she wanted to take them or are you suggesting that she did?? :roll: :twisted:

Zerotails99

tonyf34 wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Yes because only the Russians knew about steroids. :roll:

Quite right, the Americans and plenty of others were at it, but you know what when you see previously petite and slender young ladies turn into overly muscled she beasts in a couple of years get to the top of the pile and then fade away rapidly, well I'll let you figure it out!
And If you haven't seen BB then check her out..she doesn't even have particularly muscular legs even for someone whom trained huge amounts, if she was taking steroids then she should've asked for her money back..I don't think she could afford them anyway as an amateur even if she wanted to take them or are you suggesting that she did?? :roll: :twisted:

What has steroids got to do with the muscle mass? And most athletes, if not all, in those times were amateurs. You just have to go with the balance of probabilities. Nonetheless, she was still an extremely gifted and talented athlete.

Pross

Are there really people on here suggesting BB may have been using steroids? Maybe it's time to quit this forum as it's really going to the dogs. Anyone who thinks it was a possibility really needs to find out more about her, she was the ultimate amateur cyclist. Sure, there was industrial scale drug abuse in sport later in her career by 'amateur' sportspeople but these were generally state sponsored, full time athletes who were being used as an extension of the Cold War.

andyrr

Pross wrote:

Are there really people on here suggesting BB may have been using steroids? Maybe it's time to quit this forum as it's really going to the dogs. Anyone who thinks it was a possibility really needs to find out more about her, she was the ultimate amateur cyclist. Sure, there was industrial scale drug abuse in sport later in her career by 'amateur' sportspeople but these were generally state sponsored, full time athletes who were being used as an extension of the Cold War.

I think it is the 'ALMOST everybody was at it then ... so actually EVERYBODY was at it then ...' attitude. Especially someone that won lots - they really must have been at it big time ....

slim_boy_fat

cyd190468 wrote:

I don't know if she did or not, but in view of recent events it would appear that such things were verging on universal from the 70s through to the 90s.

I just love this attitude, 'I've no idea if she did or not but I'll point an accusing finger anyway'. The Clinic is that way.

above_the_cows

Oh for goodness sake I came here for an interesting discussion and general applauding of the talents of Beryl Burton and it descends into doping chat by the 6th comment.

My dad knew Beryl as it happens, riding with her sometimes in their younger days when dad came over from NZ and found himself in Yorkshire with the Engineers. They bonded over having arrhythmia.

I have a bike named Beryl after her.

slim_boy_fat

Above The Cows wrote:

Oh for goodness sake I came here for an interesting discussion and general applauding of the talents of Beryl Burton and it descends into doping chat by the 6th comment.

My dad knew Beryl as it happens, riding with her sometimes in their younger days when dad came over from NZ and found himself in Yorkshire with the Engineers. They bonded over having arrhythmia.

I have a bike named Beryl after her.

Great story ATC!

salsiccia1

Wikipedia wrote:

Worlds Road Race
1960, 1967 1st
1961 2nd

Worlds Pursuit
1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966 1st
1961, 1964, 1968 2nd
1967, 1970, 1971, 1973 3rd

National titles
Road Race - 12 times winner
Pursuit - 12 times winner

RTTC
British Best All-Rounder Competition
1959 to 1983 1st (25 consecutive years)
10 miles - 4 times winner
25 miles - 26 times winner
50 miles - 24 times winner
100 miles - 18 times winner

In 1967, she set a new 12-hour time trial record of 277.25 miles – a mark that surpassed the men’s record of the time by 0.73 miles and was not superseded by a man until 1969.
She also set about 50 new national records at 10, 15, 25, 30, 50 and 100-mile distances; her final 10, 25 and 50-mile records each lasted 20 years before being broken, her 100-mile record lasted 28 years, and her 12-hour record still stands today.

THAT is a Palmares.

DeVlaeminck

No doubt she was an extremely strong time trialist and pursuiter but aren't we in danger or exaggerating her success here - I'd have thought Vos clearly has a superior palmares for starters - the domestic wins are impressive but if we are talking about being the best you really have to look at international competition.

FJS

It's just impossible to compare. There was, unfortunately, very little international racing in her time. I've always thought the mainstream media focus on those TT records a bit insular, not something anybody outside Britain cares about. Still, the road world championships don't lie. I think it' safe to say that she was one of the best female cyclists ever, with riders like Longho, Vos, Van Moorsel

Pross

DeVlaeminck wrote:

No doubt she was an extremely strong time trialist and pursuiter but aren't we in danger or exaggerating her success here - I'd have thought Vos clearly has a superior palmares for starters - the domestic wins are impressive but if we are talking about being the best you really have to look at international competition.

2 World Road Race titles plus several other medals with little to no support in terms of support riders and coming from a country where cycling was a minority sport and women's road racing very limited. Sure Vos has far more wins to her name but she's a pro from a country where cycle racing is massive. It's not really comparable.

marcusjb

DeVlaeminck wrote:

No doubt she was an extremely strong time trialist and pursuiter but aren't we in danger or exaggerating her success here - I'd have thought Vos clearly has a superior palmares for starters - the domestic wins are impressive but if we are talking about being the best you really have to look at international competition.

Wait!

Did I miss the memo?

Vos is British now?

Wow. Who knew?

DeVlaeminck

Whoah there, someone over the page called her the greatest female cyclist ever anywhere - Vos is from anywhere and lived in the period of ever.

marcusjb

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Whoah there, someone over the page called her the greatest female cyclist ever anywhere - Vos is from anywhere and lived in the period of ever.

Well maybe quote that part, I didn't seen it - we were talking about greatest British cyclist and suddenly in comes Johnny Foreigner taking away our palmares [/UKIP rant]

The_Boy

marcusjb wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

Whoah there, someone over the page called her the greatest female cyclist ever anywhere - Vos is from anywhere and lived in the period of ever.

Well maybe quote that part, I didn't seen it - we were talking about greatest British cyclist and suddenly in comes Johnny Foreigner taking away our palmares [/UKIP rant]

Post 6.

DeVlaeminck

Between BB and Cooke then for best British female? I'm too young to remember BBs career, Cooke's was cut short but at her peak she was the strongest rider in the world in terms of road racing, with better support she would have won more world champs and I'm a believer in Cooke being clean in an era when many were not. Sounds like Burton was a phenomenal athlete but perhaps not a natural road racer - Cooke's talents maybe better suited to road racing but without the engine BB had.

I don't know enough about BB to choose between them - sounds like they were different types of rider maybe a bit like comparing Cav and Wiggins.

adr82

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I don't know enough about BB to choose between them - sounds like they were different types of rider maybe a bit like comparing Cav and Wiggins.

From what I remember of her autobiography, Burton was a very strong Cancellara-style rider in road races, but with even less of a sprint. She tended to win races only when she was able to ride everyone off her wheel before the finish, and since everyone knew that she got marked out of a few WCs on easier courses.

salsiccia1

What wins it for me is the longevity of her career; e.g. she won her first world pursuit title in 1959, and was third in 1973 - 14 years.

Nicole Cooke was brilliant, but I think even she'd be happy to admit BB is ahead of her.

Lanterne_Rogue

I think where BB scores highly is that she's a legendary cyclist of whom there isn't much in the way of archive footage and no subsequent media exposure (for the saddest of reasons). That always serves to make a rider more appealing, as does the fact that she's a name that's largely only familiar to those who know a bit more about the history of the sport in the UK. If she were racing now with that degree of success I have no doubt that she would be highly fêted, and a household name, but perhaps without the affection.

mroli

Aye. Familiarity breeds contempt and all of that.

Le Commentateur

VP did OK on the track – the best?

Anyway, now switching to another kind of race track and on a different kind of saddle:

http://yhoo.it/1KxwNWR

disgruntledgoat

I think i'd put them both on an even footing, although I'm a big fan of Cooke's so probably a little biased.

deejay

underlayunderlay wrote:

I think where BB scores highly is that she's a legendary cyclist of whom there isn't much in the way of archive footage and no subsequent media exposure (for the saddest of reasons). That always serves to make a rider more appealing, as does the fact that she's a name that's largely only familiar to those who know a bit more about the history of the sport in the UK. If she were racing now with that degree of success I have no doubt that she would be highly fêted, and a household name, but perhaps without the affection.

She was 2nd in the BBC Sports personality so a lot of people knew of her exploits on the bike.

I will come clean and confess that she caught and passed me in a 25 on the Southend road.
No I couldn't hold her as she disappeared down the road but I had a close up of her solid riding style.

Lanterne_Rogue

deejay wrote:

underlayunderlay wrote:

I think where BB scores highly is that she's a legendary cyclist of whom there isn't much in the way of archive footage and no subsequent media exposure (for the saddest of reasons). That always serves to make a rider more appealing, as does the fact that she's a name that's largely only familiar to those who know a bit more about the history of the sport in the UK. If she were racing now with that degree of success I have no doubt that she would be highly fêted, and a household name, but perhaps without the affection.

She was 2nd in the BBC Sports personality so a lot of people knew of her exploits on the bike.

I will come clean and confess that she caught and passed me in a 25 on the Southend road.
No I couldn't hold her as she disappeared down the road but I had a close up of her solid riding style.

They might have known of it at the time, but we're now nearly fifty years down the road. My point was that in the modern era she's mostly known as someone who's talked of in hushed tones, rather than somebody that we've seen flogging their backside off in glorious HD.

And be honest - that's not coming clean, that's virtually a badge of honour!