Sydney Patterson (also known as Sid Patterson, 14 August 1927 – 29 November 1999) was a world champion amateur and professional

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australian title between 1,000 metres and ten miles (16.1 km). He represented Australia in cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1949 he won every Australian track championship in the sprint,

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, 1 mile, and 5 mile (8.05 km) events. Later that year he won the world amateur sprint championship in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and in 1950, the world amateur pursuit championship in Liège. At the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

he won

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

s for the 1000m sprint and 1000m time trial. In 1951 he won the

Manchester Wheelers' Club Manchester Wheelers' Club is a cycling club in Manchester, 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. T ...

Muratti Cup beating the British Sprint Champion,

Alan Bannister Alan Bannister (born September 3, 1951) is a retired professional baseball player who played in the major leagues for the Philadelphia Phillies Chicago White Sox (1976–80), Cleveland Indians Houston Astros (1984) and Texas Rangers Original ...

, by almost a length. However Patterson was alleged to have held Bannister during the final sprint for the line and was subsequently disqualified and the race was awarded to Bannister. In 1951 Patterson became a professional and won the world professional pursuit championship in 1952 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, and in 1953 in Zurich. Patterson teamed with Russell Mockridge and Reginald Arnold to win the Paris six-day race in 1955. By his final year of racing in 1967 he had 12 consecutive Australian championships. Sid Patterson was sponsored by Malvern Star, founded by Sir

Bruce Small Sir Andrew Bruce Small OStJ (11 December 1895 – 1 May 1980) was an Australian businessman and politician. In Melbourne, he developed Malvern Star bicycles into a household name in Australia, then retired to the Gold Coast, Queensland, whe ...

. At 72 Patterson died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

. The ''Sid Patterson Grand Prix'' is held in Melbourne annually in his honour. The first was won by Tommy Nankervis, who was introduced to the sport after meeting Patterson at a bike shop. In 2015, he was an inaugural Cycling Australia Hall of Fame inductee.

References

External links

''Cycling News''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Sid 1927 births 1999 deaths Australian male cyclists Deaths from liver cancer Cyclists at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Cyclists from Melbourne Olympic cyclists of Australia Cyclists at the 1948 Summer Olympics UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling Australian track cyclists