{"id":10158,"title":"Goodwood 1982 - Amateur titles","description":"The UCI Cycling World Championships were held in England in 1982, with the road races at Goodwood in West Sussex. In the second part, we report on a rare British victory and socialist love.","content":"

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The UCI Cycling World Championships were held in England in 1982, with the road races at Goodwood in West Sussex.<\/p>

\"Goodwood<\/u><\/a>In the second part, we report on a rare British victory and socialist love. If you missed it, here's part one<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>

\"GB's <\/em>GB's Team Time Trial Team (Bob Downs, Steve Lawrence, Joe Waugh)<\/em><\/strong> Image: <\/em>The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

An uncertain start<\/h3>

If the organising British Cycling Federation, or BCF as everyone called it, thought they were on to a financial winner it must have come as a blow when reality hit home. Purported headline sponsor Michelob never materialised. It became apparent that the gap would be filled by a number of smaller sponsorship deals. The whole event became entangled with legal arguments.<\/p>

How much?<\/h3>

Apparently, Goodwood had been sold on the basis that it could be sealed off and everyone would be charged entry. Locals soon realised this was unrealistic. You can seal the roads, but not the woods.<\/p>

The BCF suggested that cycling clubmen should give up their weekend time trial or 'fish and chipper' road race and pay to watch continentals race. Some hope. This was an era when one club member would buy Cycling Weekly magazine before passing it on to the others in turn.<\/p>

Pay to watch a race? One anecdote claims that a northern clubman rode down to Goodwood. Finding that he was expected to pay, he turned around and rode home again. I don't know if it's true, but having a Yorkshireman as a son-in-law, I'm prepared to believe it.<\/p>

Friends of mine smuggled a young lad in via the boot of their car rather than pay the exorbitant \u00a33 entry.<\/p>

\"Lemon\"<\/h3>

The locals and in particular the local police force had no idea what to expect. At the time, England was bedevilled by appalling football violence and there was no reason to expect any less from 'those across the water'.<\/p>

One fan was arrested for spraying 'Lemond' onto the road, except the officers prevented him from completing the final 'd'. Top international sports photographer Cor Vos was arrested for obstruction.<\/p>

Riding with Sean Kelly<\/strong><\/h3>

At the time, I was 'between opportunities'. Or, as we called it then, 'on the dole'. This left me with lots of chances to hang around the Goodwood area and see the riders training on the course. I donned a green jersey and tried to join in with the Irish team.\u00a0<\/p>

After sneaking into their group, I found myself riding alongside\u00a0 Sean Kelly. I was speechless, afraid of saying anything stupid. Thankfully, Sean just opened the conversation with \"it's lovely here, \u201c referring to the Southdowns\u2019 rolling greenness.\u00a0<\/p>

No pretensions and great modesty<\/p><\/blockquote>

We chatted for some time as we cycled together. A man, as I would discover over the years, with no pretensions and great modesty. As we started the descent, we encountered the Italian women's team. The Irish amateurs attempted their best chat-up lines as they rode alongside. Sean, a true professional, just tutted.<\/p>

\"TheThe USA team and their sagging chains<\/em><\/strong> Image: <\/em>The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

It rained, boy it rained<\/h3>

The first event was the amateur Team Time Trial. Traditionally these had been held on nice flat dual-carriageways. It must have come as a shock to the teams to find that the course had a nasty great hill in it. Clearly, the USA team were never expecting to use their small rings, for when they did their chains were nearly dragging on the ground.<\/p>

And it rained and rained. The rolling beauty of the Southdowns is a result of millions of years of glacial movement and chalk. And where there's chalk there's flint. And there's nothing more flint likes than a fresh, precious tubular tyre. Flint is as hard as steel and sharp as a razor.<\/p>

The result was a puncture-fest<\/p><\/blockquote>

Washed out from the chalk, the roads became strewn with shiny flints. The result was a puncture-fest. The Great Britain team had seven punctures, the Polish team six and at least one team ran out of tyres. The winning Dutch team incredibly stayed puncture free.<\/p>

\"Mandy <\/a>Mandy Jones leads Mieke Havik of the Netherlands<\/em><\/strong> Image: <\/em>The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Home victory<\/h3>

Great Britain's expectations were to 'put up a good fight', 'be plucky', but honourable in the inevitable defeat. Mandy Jones clearly hadn't read the form card when she took the lead on the final lap of the laughingly short women's race.<\/p>

We listened spellbound<\/p><\/blockquote>

All Mandy was expected to do was put up a good fight and be honourable in defeat. Surely she couldn't hang on and do the impossible? We listened spellbound as the tannoy relayed the commentary. Unbelievably she was holding her lead. All of us waiting near the finish expected her to be caught on the final climb.
Even thinking about it now brings back those same goosebumps. And then suddenly she hove into view. She was going to do it. GB was actually going to win. We were delirious with joy.<\/p>

Later at the prize presentation, we serenaded BCF President Eileen Grey CBE with our unique cover of Dexys Midnight Runners' \"Come on Eileen\". I'll never know whether she appreciated it. I hope she did.<\/p>

Today, Mandy could expect to be signed by one of the professional women's teams. Not back then. Cycling was not a career choice for women. She'd achieved her aim and within a year she'd retired from the sport.<\/p>

\"Peter <\/a>Peter Sanders leads the break in the amateur race<\/em><\/strong> Image: <\/em>The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Socialist brotherly love<\/h3>

The amateur race was expected to be a fight between the Soviets and the East Germans. In my ignorant idealism, they were socialist brothers bound by a common ideal. The reality was that they pretty much hated one another.<\/p>

The Soviets looked down on the East Germans and the East Germans resented the fact that as a nation they did what mother Russia said. Within seven years the wall would come crashing down and all this would be immaterial.<\/p>

Sanders goes close<\/h3>

Britain's Peter Sanders infiltrated what looked like the winning break. If you've ever suffered on a bike it was almost certainly nothing to what he suffered to stay there. Eventually, Peter ticked the plucky and honourable in defeat boxes.<\/p>

A beast of a man<\/p><\/blockquote>

The break was caught and, like Mandy Jones, Bernd Drogan, a beast of a man, rode clear on the last lap. It seemed inevitable that he would be caught. As he struggled up the final climb his chasers were closing in, but he hung on to win by eight seconds, collapsing as he crossed the finish line.<\/p>

And the Russians? Not a man in the top ten.<\/p>

\"BerndBernd Drogan of the Democratic Republic of Germany<\/em><\/strong> Image: <\/em>The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Our man Mick captured it all<\/h3>

Our ace photographer Mick Searle<\/strong><\/a> was there to capture the images on film. His picture of Saronni cornering at speed was included in Cycling Weekly's report on the event. It's become an iconic image of the event.<\/p>

\"CyclingCycling Weekly, September 1982<\/em><\/p>

Tim Costello, 23 Apr 2021<\/em><\/p>

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\"Subscribe<\/u><\/a><\/p>","urlTitle":"goodwood-1982-part-two","url":"\/blog\/goodwood-1982-part-two\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/goodwood-1982-part-two\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/blog\/goodwood-1982-part-two\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1613928845,"updatedAt":1774562080,"publishedAt":1774562079,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":61205,"name":"Rijden_2"},"tags":[{"id":1216,"code":"road-racing","name":"RoadRacing","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/road-racing\/"},{"id":2229,"code":"retro","name":"Retro","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/retro\/"}],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/skobdoxdohlydrehwbak2vqm7psto0d1hfgryg4dee8axtqn.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/skobdoxdohlydrehwbak2vqm7psto0d1hfgryg4dee8axtqn.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/skobdoxdohlydrehwbak2vqm7psto0d1hfgryg4dee8axtqn.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"Goodwood 1982 - Amateur titles | Rijden cycling","metaDescription":"The UCI Cycling World Championships were held in England in 1982, with the road races at Goodwood. Mandy Jones took the women's title for Britain.","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":10141,"title":"Soviet Invasion","url":"\/blog\/goodwood-1982\/","urlTitle":"goodwood-1982","division":61205,"description":"The first of three stories about the 1982 World Cycling Championships which was held at Goodwood. Sleepy Sussex was the stage for a minor invasion of Soviet cyclists and their KGB minders.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ysyhin4y6wh2tspjf8niotiyhghaolmac7ucoddcx2tlpzmt.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ysyhin4y6wh2tspjf8niotiyhghaolmac7ucoddcx2tlpzmt.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":10162,"title":"Goodwood 1982 - Giuseppe Saronni wins","url":"\/blog\/goodwood-1982-part-three\/","urlTitle":"goodwood-1982-part-three","division":61205,"description":"La fucilata di Goodwood: Our unique insight into the 1982 Cycling World Championship road race won by Italian star Giuseppe Saronni aboard his beautiful Colnago.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/troqwtwuqogjpe46tgbnbqmp0ok1qvukq25eeawytinpgzua.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/troqwtwuqogjpe46tgbnbqmp0ok1qvukq25eeawytinpgzua.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":11108,"title":"Albert Vandevoorde","url":"\/blog\/albert-v-english\/","urlTitle":"albert-v-english","division":61205,"description":"A professional cyclist, a steeplejack, a man who loved life and cycling. The incredible story of Belgian Albert Vandevoorde as told by Remi Gruwez.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/bljaoxqwrtzvh8wv1hwwbdklivgfeldwnav2crgxo07xahvt.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/bljaoxqwrtzvh8wv1hwwbdklivgfeldwnav2crgxo07xahvt.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}