Bill Mallon - Historical Dictionary of Cycling

Editors Foreword

With about a billion bicycles in the world and some multiple of that having cycled in the past or bound to do so in the future, it is not surprising that cycling is one of the most popular sports. While the bicycle itself has been around since the early 19th century, it was not until the late 19th century that serious competitions were organized; although, there were countless informal races before. Since then, however, the sport has continued gaining strength, in the number of races held each year, the number of places where such races are held, the number of cyclists participating, and also the number of spectators, whether along the course or watching on television. Indeed, the Tour de France and the various world championships, to say nothing of the Olympic events, are familiar to much of the worlds population, perhaps more so in Europe and the United States, but increasingly elsewhere, too. And the top racers have a following as faithful and sometimes almost as large as any other sport heroes. Moreover, unlike some other sports, they tend to be emulated more readily since anyone who wants can easily obtain the gear.

Over the years, as for similar activities but perhaps a bit more here, cycling has become more varied, with utility cycling (just to get from A to B) and amateur cycling (for a friendly race) but also professional cycling, which is the focus of this book. There is road and track racing, on shorter and longer courses, some climbing mountains while others spin around the velodrome. So it is more than just handy, it is informative and for fans perhaps essential to have a Historical Dictionary of Cycling . The best place to find out about the history of cycling is in the chronology, but the introduction also shows the increasing variety of the field. The bulk of the information comes in the dictionary section with, first and foremost, short sketches of the top cyclists, men and women, from the earliest days to the present time. There are also entries on the countries they represent, the types of competitions they engage in, and background on the most important tours, championships, and other races, to say nothing of the key components of the bicycle and some of the jargon. Those who want to learn more should consult the bibliography. But doubtlessly, the parts which will be referred to most often are the appendixes, with data on winners of all the major competitions year by year and record setters of all sorts.

This volume was written by Bill Mallon and Jeroen Heijmans. Dr. Mallon is an orthopedic surgeon who has a long background in sports and has written substantially on related topics over the years. He is already well known to readers of this sports series of Scarecrow Press because he has written four editions of the Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement and, more recently, the Historical Dictionary of Golf . In addition, he has been active in the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), earlier serving as the editor of its Journal of Olympic History . Indeed, he was awarded the Olympic Order in Silver in 2001. Jeroen Heijmans is an information technology professional who has also been following the Olympics very closely from an early age. He is presently part of the OlyMADMen who compile historic results of the Olympic Games. He is also a member and the webmaster of the ISOH and coauthor of the fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement . Both are avid cyclists, and Mallon was actually a competitive cyclist in his youth. Between them, they have provided an excellent introduction to cycling for beginners and a first-rate guide for the more advanced.

Jon WoronoffSeries Editor

Preface

We dont remember much from when we were one or two years old. Most of our first memories come around four years of age, and that is true with me. We lived in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and my dad would take me to the corner soda shop, where I read through comic books. And on weekends, he took me over to Paterson to the bike shop of Grard Debaets, who taught me about bikes and gears and nuts and ratchets, and I would get my hands all dirty and greasy, and afterward, Gerry taught me how to clean them in his big ole industrial sink using Lava soap.