Walter "Hefty" Stuart (1912–1938) was an Australian cyclist who competed on both

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and track, as was typical of Australian cyclists of the era such as Hubert Opperman and Richard Lamb.

Career highlights

;1932 :6th Brisbane Six Day ;1933 :2nd fastest Goulburn to Sydney :Fastest Tour of Gippsland :1st Australian national road race title and Blue Riband in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Classic :1st Stage 3 Tour of Tasmania :2nd Stage 4 Tour of Tasmania :7th General Classification Tour of Tasmania ;1934 :Fastest Tour of Gippsland : Centenary 1000 ::2nd fastest Stage 1 ::Fastest stage 2 ::1st A Grade stage 3 ;1935 : Solo record for London-Portsmouth-London :

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

record for London-Portsmouth-London :Tandem record for London-Bath-London :Tandem record for London-Brighton-London :Tandem record for London to York :Tandem record for 12 hours :10th UCI Road World Championships ;1936 :Won the entire track programme at Nyah :1st Circuit of Albany. :1st Albany Grand Prix

Professional career

Stuart grew up in

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

and won the Gippsland track championships in 1930 and 1931. Stuart's first cycling coach was Alf Bishop and the Les Jabara. In the 1930 Tour of

Stuart, aged 18, had a handicap of 20 minutes over seasoned riders Opperman, Lamb,

Frankie Thomas Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), was an American actor, author and Contract bridge, bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early t ...

and

Ossie Nicholson Oserick Bernard "Ossie" Nicholson (1910 – 9 November 1965) was an Australian cyclist who twice held the World Endurance record for distance in a calendar year. Australian cycling career Nicholson was a professional cyclist in the years be ...

. By 1933 Stuart was riding from scratch and set the fastest time in the Tour of Gippsland in a course record. Bob Amott and Stuart were accused of doping and samples were taken from their bidons at the start of the 1934 tour of Gippsland.. Stuart went on to set the fastest time in the race. Analysis later confirmed the contents were water,

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

and

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

. In 1932 Stuart teamed with Nicholson in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

six day race. Nicholson was injured and they were only able to finish sixth. Stuart first rode in the Warrnambool to Melbourne Classic in 1929 at the age of 17, with a handicap of 38 minutes where he finished 33rd. By 1931 his handicap had come down to 16 minutes. He went on in 1933 to win the Blue Riband for the fastest time which carried with it the Australian national road race title. 1933 was a stellar year for Stuart, as well as winning the Warrnambool and the Tour of Gippsland he was 2nd fastest time in Goulburn to Sydney, behind Frankie Thomas, and won stage 3 of the Tour of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The Tour of

was a six-day stage race covering . Stuart was second in stage 4 and finished 7th overall, with the race being won by Lamb. 1934 was another great year for Stuart, who started in 14 events and made the fastest time in 10 of them including the Tour of Gippsland. The biggest race of 1934 was the Centenary 1000, a 6-stage race over to mark the Centenary of Victoria. Stuart was second fastest in Stage 1 from Melbourne to Warrnambool, fastest in stage 2 and was the fastest of the A Grade championship riders in stage 3. Stuart was leading the championship as a result of his wins however he broke a pedal on stage 4 and lost over 30 minutes. Stage 5 was marked by torrential downpours of rain hail and sleet as the riders climbed

Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery. The summit of the h ...

. Stuart fell on Mount Buffalo and did not start the sixth stage. In 1935 Stuart was part of a team, led by Opperman and organised by Bruce Small, that travelled to England to attack various distance records. Other team members were Ern Milliken, Harold and Eddie Smith, Joe Walsh and New Zealand's Hubert Turtill. Stuart broke the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

-London solo record in 6hrs 34' 7". Riding with Milliken, they broke the tandem record in 6hrs 34' 7". Stuart and Milliken also broke the London-

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

-London tandem record in 4hrs 9' 53", and the London to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in 8 hrs 15'. Stuart and Milliken carried on to ride to break the tandem 12-hour record. Stuart, Opperman and Milliken went to Belgium for the 1935 UCI Road World Championships, where Stuart finished 10th. Stuart won every race at a track meeting at Nyah in January 1935, winning the mile and two mile handicaps from behind scratch, the three heat

omnium An omnium (from Latin ''omnium'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that f ...

, and the five mile scratch race. Stuart also won the Albany Grand Prix, a points race and the circuit of Albany. Stuart continued to ride in 1936 but without notable success. In 1937 Stuart, riding with Franz Duelberg who won the teams championship at the Exhibition board track. Stuart retired at the end of 1937 but was lured back to cycling at the end of 1938 to compete at the Exhibition board track. When competing in the final Stuart’s front tyre blew out, causing him to fall and he was run over by a following pacing motorcycle. Stuart died in hospital two weeks later.

References

External links

*
Hefty Stuart profile
at Canberra bicycle museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Walter 1938 deaths Australian male cyclists Cyclists from Melbourne Cyclists who died while racing People from Warburton, Victoria Sportsmen from Victoria (state)