When Reg died in 1992, some older members of the Section who could remember riding with him attended his memorial service at Bury Parish Church. Harris - like many of his generation - is generally considered to have doped. In Harris's day, it's important to point out, there were no rules telling you not to dope, they didn't arrive until the 'sixties. But doping was still a moral issue. An issue that riders, fans and the media were increasingly conscious of. In 1980, Harris retired which in his case, meant taking up another curator position, this time at Alderney Museum on the Island of Guernsey. Harris was awarded the Foster Memorial Prize for Bacteriology and the Fotherham Prize for Geology. Harris passed away in 1987. Rosina Down, a former student of Harris and former curator of the Grant Museum, wrote of him ‘It was said of E. Ray Lankester (a former Professor of the UCL Zoology Department and Director of the BMNH) that “he influenced the whole course of Zoology in the British Empire”. I think the same could be said of Reg Harris’s influence on the course of practical biological techniques.’ A glowing account of a teacher and mentor, clearly admired and well respected in his field.

SIXTIES SNAP: A building on Beech Lane, Macclesfield, occupied by Reg Harris Bicycles shown in the 1960s. READ MORE: Arguably the most famous rider to use SBDU framesets in the Classic period was the late Laurent Fignon’s Systeme U/Super U team. Fignon’s 1989 Tour de France machine returned to Raleigh in 1989 and was on display for some time in the Science Museum. By partnering with Accell Group, we work with brands all over the world to share the latest knowledge and tech, giving us insider info that helps us make our bikes the best they can be. It proved to be an indifferent league campaign for the Blues who finished 11th in the First Division on 41 points, but the European Cup Winners’ Cup was a different matter. Resurrected in Raleigh's post-war range, announced in March 1946, and now assigned no. 25, the Lenton Sports' frame (still 21" and with a 71° angle) was now constructed of Reynolds 531 tubing with a newly designed fork and new colour: Polychromatic Olive. Although Cycling magazine praised it as being "a sound machine at a moderate price," it was withdrawn in spring 1947 and superceded by the Clubman in 1948.Harris's achievements are marked annually with the Reg Harris Sportive, organised by his family and friends. The inaugural event on 25 August 2013 raised money for charities. [6] In 1971, he returned to racing, winning a bronze medal in the British championship in Birmingham after little preparation. With more training behind him, he approached the British championship in Leicester in 1974 in more confident mood, and beat Trevor Bull to win the title at the age of 54. In 1975, he returned to Leicester, but was narrowly beaten by Bull in the final and had to settle for the silver medal. He continued to cycle almost to his death. Kanchelskis made history by becoming the last player to score for the former Soviet Union during the state’s last official game in Cyprus in November 1991. Read More

He immediately turned professional ruling himself out of any further Olympic appearances. He won the World Championship sprint title three years running between 1949 and 1951 and returned to claim a fifth title in 1954. A measure of these achievements can be seen in the fact that Britain had to wait more than half a century for its next World Champion, Chris Hoy 54 years later. Dineen's solution to this issue is as simple as his solution to doping: all of Harris's major titles were hard earned, of others the same cannot be said. When Antonio Maspes defeated Harris in 1955, winning the first of his six professional titles, Dineen notes that Harris had been offered a fee to throw the race in the Italian's favour: By 1954, the colour range for the Lenton Sports had been expanded. While the Lenton Sports was still offered in its trademark Lenton Green, the Humber Clipper in Polychromatic Electric Blue and the Rudge Pathfinder in Polychromatic Maroon, any of three models could be also supplied in Polychromatic Mediterranean Blue and Lustre Royal Carmine. Mudguards and pumps for the blue machines were red.

Biography

As president of the British Cycling, Brian Cookson was given an office at the National Velodrome close to the brilliant bronze bust of Harris that was commissioned in his honour. Cookson described the dichotomy to his childhood hero nicely. “Reg is a huge figure,’ he said. “He deserves his iconic status. But the more that you find out about the way that he operated as a man and as an athlete, the more you find out that there were nuances to him, a pragmatic side where he was determined to make the most of his circumstances financially, and every other way. He had a businesslike, ruthless approach to his sport. Ultimately, he realised: “This is my one chance of achieving greatness.”’ In early 1937, he was confident he could support himself as an athlete, selling the prizes he won as an amateur, [3] and left the paper mill to focus on the summer cycle racing season, returning to the mill the following winter (repeating the process the following year). He continued to win races and attract attention, and by the summer of 1938 was able to beat the existing British sprint champion. At the end of that season, he joined Manchester Wheelers' Club, and in 1939 won a major race in Coventry, leading to his selection for the world championship in Milan, Italy. He travelled to Milan and had familiarised himself with the Velodromo Vigorelli when World War II broke out and the British team was recalled to the UK. Injury meant Reg Harris may not have hit the heights of his Olympic successors 60 years on but he is the man responsible for making the first ripples on the world cycling scene that eventually led to the current tidal wave of Manchester-based British success.