Donald John Allan (born 24 September 1949) is an Australian former
cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
who rode at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
and
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
.
Allan began cycling with the Blackburn Cycling Club in Melbourne.
[ In 1970, he was paralysed in a car accident, breaking his back and fracturing his sacrum and pelvis.][ He returned to compete in the individual road race and ]team time trial
A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events).
The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...
events at the 1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
.
In 1973, Allan rode in the big amateur races across Europe and won stages in cycling's version of the Cold War Tour de France, the Peace Race, as well as the Tour of Austria
The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...
, Tour of Scotland, and multiple criteria in Holland and kermesses in Belgium.[ In November 1973, he was offered a pro contract with Dutch team Frisol. He rode in the 1974 Tour de France as a domestique for Frisol and finished 103rd.][ In the 1975 Tour de France, he finished 85th.]
In 1976 Allan finished 9th in the 1976 UCI Road World Championships in Italy.[
Allan with Danny Clark were the fifth most successful team in ]Six-day racing
Six-day cycling is a track cycling event that takes place over six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initiall ...
history with 15 wins, 15 second places, 11 third places and 12 fourth places off 71 starts.
Another fractured pelvis and other injuries effectively ended his career.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Donald
1949 births
Living people
Australian male cyclists
Australian track cyclists
Australian Vuelta a España stage winners
Cyclists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic cyclists for Australia
Cyclists from Melbourne
Sportsmen from Victoria (state)
20th-century Australian sportsmen