3 PEAKS CYCLO-CROSS HISTORY
1962 [37 finishers. Winner: Harry Bond 3:20.08 - new record]
History Homepage • 1961

CYCLO-CROSS STARTS
Bond wins by 11 min.
Newspaper report shortly after the race.

Look out, Longo! Harry Bond is in great form. Winning his own Bradford R.C. Three Peaks cyclo-cross event by 12 minutes from clubmate, organiser and last year's winner, John Rawnsley, Bond set up a new record for the ultra-tough circuit in 3-20-8, 1-27 better than last year when Bond was second a few yards back.

And when the atrocious under-foot conditions are considered, Rawnsley's second place in 3-32-25 was a feat equal to his last year's faster winning time. Following night-long gales and downpour, Ribblesdale was just about awash; the roads flooded, the fells just a squelching sponge, making the going tricky downhill and tricky and extra tough going uphill. And those uphill stretches are tough enough in dry conditions.

Penyghent (2,273 feet) tackled right from the start soon spread the field, with Bond quickly into the lead, followed by Rawnsley. Despite a nasty running tumble on the descent and a knock on the eye from his shouldered bike, Rawnsley was less than a minute down at the foot of the next big pull, Whernside, 2,414 feet. Half-way up, Bond had a four minute lead. Rawnsley managed to reduce this drastically at the summit, but soon paid for it with an attack of cramp which stopped him for a while, putting him four minutes back again at Ingleborough foot, with E. Lowe, South Elmsall C.C., J. Black, Lune R.C., and N. Orrell. Flixton C.C., pressing him hard at this point.

At the summit of Ingleborough 2,373ft., Bond still had 4 minutes' lead on Rawnsley, who was just holding his own with Black, who was now pulling away from Lowe and Orrell. Black had come up well after a puncture on Penyghent, but on the helter-skelter, slip-slide-jump-splash descent he lost a couple of minutes on Rawnsley and finished third.

Bond, in a hurtling descent which gained him eight minutes on Rawnsley, sped into the finish looking ready for another round.

H. Bond, Bradford R.C.C., 3-20-8, 1; J. Rawnsley, Bradford R.C.C., at 12-17, 2; J. Black, Lune R.C., at 15-20, 3; I. Craig, Lune R.C., at 16-17, 4; E. Lowe, South Elmsall C.C., 5; J. Whittam, Bradford R.C.C., 6. Team.- Bradford R.C.C. (Bond, Rawnsley, Whittam).

History Homepage • 1961