TLI Cycling

Graham Webb, former World Road Race Champion represents TLI Cycling on the International Cycling Federation committee

Graham Webb writes from Belgium

I have some very sad news, Albert passed away at his home in Ghent last night. His large generous heart gave up the battle to live only months after having a pacemaker installed. For those of you that have never known or heard of Albert he was Tom Simpson's great friend and it was Albert that brought me to Belgium laying the foundations of my World road win in 1967. I'm saying that without Albert, Britain would never have had one single World road race champion and he should be top of the list in BC's 'Hall of Fame'.
 
Albert Beurick will be cremated at, 9080, Lochristie crematorium on Friday the 18th December at 12 noon and his ashes will be then placed next to his mother at the family tomb in St Amandsberg, Ghent.

You can send messages of condolence to his widow, Arlette, at Kwikstaartlaan 19, B 9032 Wondelgem, Belgium.

WHEN triple Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy returned from Beijing he had a hero�s welcome and the sportsman was the toast of Britain after earning a knighthood in the Queen�s New Years Honours.

But more than 40 years before his remarkable achievements, a former Birmingham factory worker first conquered the world of cycling Graham Webb has never been honoured in Britain � although he is a national treasure in Belgium where he has been recognised by its King. A former worker for Birmingham Small Arms, in Small Heath, when Webb won the World Amateur Road Bike Championship in 1967 it was the end of a remarkable journey which began in post-war poverty in Sparkbrook, �I was born and bred in a back street slum of Birmingham,� he said.,my mother was a war widow with three boys and two girls. I was the youngest. I was constantly very ill and given the Last Rites twice as a child, but I�m a fighter and survived. and at the age of eight I learnt to ride a bike and managed to buy one for 9p, and this was my saviour. I was never out of the saddle as I felt I was born for cycling and it helped me get stronger every day. To escape the hardships of his tough upbringing Graham found comfort in gruelling training rides, regularly making the 100-mile round trip from his Sparkbrook home to Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. Aged 16 he entered his first race, a time trial. �I�d got a T-shirt and cut-off jeans and tennis pumps,� recalled Graham, who went on to hold the British record for 10 miles, 25 miles and one-hour events. �I was watching my opponents get into this racing gear and got fed up with all these blokes changing and thought: �When�s this race going to start?� It should have started at six and these blokes were still getting changed. I didn�t know it was every minute a bloke rides off!�When the shy youngster turned up to his next meet he was surprised to find he had WON the previous race � despite having to stop to repair his bike. Each winter the cycling fanatic worked 16-hour shifts to finance a summer of racing.In 1967 he and his wife sold everything to fund a move to Holland, before moving to Belgium. It paid off when the cyclist rode to victory in the World Amateur Road Race � the first British winner for 45 years.Graham turned professional and joined the Mercier team. But equipment problems and injuries hampered his success.He eventually opened a bar in Belgium and had his World Champion�s rainbow jersey on display. He was later employed at a steel works in Ghent, Belgium, as a crane operator. He returned to the saddle in the 80s after a 16-year break, winning four events in his adopted homeland. In 2005 he suffered a split aorta riding near his home in Ghent but has fought back to health and still rides. Graham may never have been honoured in Britain, yet the King of Belgium has twice marked his sporting achievements with a civilian award. Friend Jim Prichard, from Birmingham, has campaigned for years for Graham to be honoured in his home country. He said: ��I know Graham is very bitter about his lack of recognition, especially when you look at the success that Chris Hoy has had. ��He has offered to help train British cyclists, but was turned down

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