Kolarz Polski, Vol 1, No 3
Articles in this issue
- Leading editorial on how Polish sport and physical education overcame forty years of public prejudice, from the days when gymnastics was mocked and only horses had proper grounds. It ends with a warning to young cyclists against excessive zeal, prescribing about two preparatory years — the first almost wholly on the road, starting with effortless 10 km rides and reaching 1 km in two minutes and 10 km in 21-22 minutes.
- Review of the 1925 Polish road season on the eve of the 1926 opening: Gronczewski beating Bartodziejski and Skowroński for the Warsaw provincial title, Ziembicki of Brześć taking Polesie in 3h 16m, O. Miller in Łódź and Wroński in Kraków, Ignatowicz of Lwów winning the Kurjer Czerwony "Okrężny" race, Mieczysław Lange (Poznań) taking the 206 km Polish road championship in 7h 25m, and Józef Lange of W.T.C. winning the tour of Warsaw province. Also covers Mieczysław Lange's crash 12 km from the finish of the Amsterdam world championship.
- Table of the nine Polish provincial championships of 1925, giving the first three finishers and the 100 km time for each — from Ziembicki, Jakimowicz and Kowalczyk in Polesie (3h 16m 2s) down to Dibowski, Kozłowski and Diesing in Pomerania (4h 2m).
- Touring advice continuing the article begun in the previous number: a lightly raised handlebar rather than the racer's drops, a gear never above 64-68, a machine with freewheel, mudguards and sound brakes, and a rear carrier in place of rucksacks and satchels. Lists the kit for a tour of several days — a long rubber cape, two pairs of stockings, thin and thick woollen shirts, a night shirt, a tyre repair kit and provisions. Signed Fes.
- Eyewitness account of the tenth Paris six-day at the Vélodrome d'Hiver, naming all fifteen pairs (Van Kempen-Faudet, Girardengo-Giorgetti, Mac-Namara-Horan, Wambst-Lacquehay, Aerts-Choury and the rest) and following the 144 hours through the crash that dislocated Horan's shoulder, the shower of spectators' primes and the closing sprints to victory for the young French pair Wambst-Lacquehay with 3,325 km and 548 points. Illustrated with photographs of the cabins, the start and Beyle receiving a telegram. Signed Fes.
- Argues that Poland must admit open professionalism if it wants world championship or Olympic results, since French, Italian and German riders of the Kaufmann, Michard and Moeskops class make cycling a trade rather than an art. Warns that clubs which pay their riders and then let them be struck off the amateur list leave them without any real occupation while the clubs prosper unpunished. Signed Pomian.
- Prompted by a Kurjer Czerwony article, the paper's own enquiry among manufacturers finds the Polish bicycle industry close to halting production. The duty is 30 zł a complete machine but only 1.20 zł per kilo of parts, so importers ship bicycles dismantled and clear them as "parts" for 10-12 zł each, evading the import ban outright; tyres on rims are handled the same way. Signed J. W.
- Foreign results from late March and April 1926: Martinetti's handicap win at the Buffalo velodrome in Paris, Huschke of Germany taking the 250 km Berlin-Kottbus-Berlin from Belloni and H. Suter after a pile-up felled 40 of the 117 starters, the Bailey-Kaufmann professional match, Piani against Willie Spencer in New York, the opening of the Ordruj track in Copenhagen, the second Berlin six-day won by Sergent-Lonet with 3,667 km, Belloni's win in the 317 km Hannover road race, and Lacquehay's tandem-paced 50 km victory in Paris.
- Polish news: the board of the Związek Polskich Towarzystw Kolarskich warns that licences must be exchanged by 1 May or fees treble, and cycling relays from Łódź province, Upper Silesia, Poznań, Lwów and Kraków will carry congratulatory telegrams to the President in Warsaw on 3 May. Continues with the Warsaw Cyclists' Society opening its season on the Lublin road, the fifth "Stadjon" race, the L.T.K.M. committee elected in Lwów under Wissmiller and Major Sołtyński, the Łódź and Pabjanice season programmes, and the twentieth jubilee of the Sokół cyclists in Żywiec.
- Adresy Towarzystw Kolarskich — członków Związku Polskich Towarzystw Kolarskich. (opens in a new tab)Continuation of the directory of clubs affiliated to the Polish Union of Cycling Societies, covering Kraków province, entries 38-45: the Sokół cycling section in Podgórze, the Jewish sports clubs Makkabi and Hakoah in Kraków, the workers' club Legja, the Sokół cyclists in Żywiec, and clubs in Trzebinia, Wieliczka and Kęty.