Manchester Wheelers' Club is a cycling club in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, in north-west England.

Formation and early history

The club was formed on 7 July 1883, as Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, the name being changed to Manchester Wheelers' Club in 1890. The Manchester Wheelers are the most successful cycling club in Britain having produced countless international riders and several World Champions. Many consider the golden era of the club to be in the early 1980s when the level of success achieved was renowned throughout cycling.

Club colours and emblem

Club racing jerseys are royal blue, red and white, with the words 'Manchester Wheelers'.

Notable riders

;Reg Harris

Reg Harris Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE (1 March 1920 – 22 June 1992) was an English track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948 and the world professional titl ...

was born in Bury on 1 March 1920. He joined Manchester Wheelers as a teenager in 1939. He won five world sprint championships, one as an amateur and four as a professional, and broke world records. He became critical of British sprint cycling and made a comeback 30 years after his first national amateur championship. He won the professional title at Leicester in 1974 at the age of 54. ;Chris Boardman

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is an English former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1 ...

was born in Hoylake on 26 August 1968. He joined Manchester Wheelers as a teenager and dominated the domestic time trial scene with over thirty national titles including National 10, 25, 50, and

British National Hill Climb Championships The British National Hill Climb Championship is a hill climbing competition held annually by Cycling Time Trials with the location varying year on year. The first edition was in 1944 and it has been won by some of the best all-round United Kingdo ...

. He went on to break the

Hour Record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

, win an Olympic Gold and have the

yellow jersey The general classification of the Tour de France is the most important classification of the race and determines the winner of the race. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification has worn the yellow jersey ( ). History For the first t ...

in the

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 ...

. ;Other notable riders:

Tom Barlow

Tom Barlow — President of Manchester Wheelers' ClubNational Cycle Library — National Cycle Archive
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005231849/http://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk/ncl/asearch.php?searchtext=F , date=2008-10-05 was commemorated in the ''

Golden Book of Cycling The ''Golden Book of Cycling'' was created in 1932 by ''Cycling'', a British cycling magazine, to celebrate "the Sport and Pastime of Cycling by recording the outstanding rides, deeds and accomplishments of cyclists, officials and administra ...

'' in the 1950s. A copy of his citation is held at the National Cycle Library in

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...

Muratti Cup

The Muratti Race, "The race of the Champions", began in 1899 when the vice-president of Manchester Wheelers, D. B. Muratti, on behalf of Messrs. B. Muratti, Sons & Co., cigarette makers, presented a cup valued at 100 guineas. The Muratti Gold Cup is presented annually to the winner of the 10-miles event and has been presented several times at the

UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

World Masters track championships. The trophy was won in 2006 by Sergio Gili of Argentina.

Race Meets

The Manchester Wheelers' Race Meets were held until the Fallowfield track closed in 1975. They were world famous, attracting Olympic, World and National Champions from around the world including

Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager ...

Cyril Peacock Cyril Francis Peacock (19 July 1929 – 31 December 1992) was a British amateur racing cyclist who was world champion in 1954.Sports123, http://sports123.com/tcy/mw-spra.html He was also national sprint champion in 1952, 1953 and 1954 and ...

Patrick Sercu Patrick Sercu (27 June 1944 – 19 April 2019) was a Belgian cyclist who was active on the road and track between 1961 and 1983. On track, he won the gold medal in the 1 km time trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, as well as three world title ...

Sid Patterson Sydney Patterson (also known as Sid Patterson, 14 August 1927 – 29 November 1999) was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Austral ...

Arie van Vliet Arie Gerrit van Vliet (18 March 1916 – 9 July 2001) was a Dutch sprint cyclist. Between 1934 and 1957, he won 13 medals at world championships, including four gold medals, and set several world records in sprint events, despite the interr ...

, Mario Ghella,

Russell Mockridge Edward Russell Mockridge (18 July 1928 – 13 September 1958) was a racing cyclist from Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus. Family The son of Robert Glover Mockridge and Aileen Claire Mockridge, né ...

and

Jef Scherens Joseph "Jef" Scherens (17 February 1909 – 9 August 1986), better known as Poeske Scherens, was a Belgian professional track cyclist, specializing in sprint where he won seven World Championships. Biography Early life Jef Scherens was ...

References

External links

Manchester Wheelers' Club: official site

Manchester Wheelers' Member Site
Cycling teams established in 1883 Cycling clubs in the United Kingdom Sport in Manchester 1883 establishments in England