Sid Patterson
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sid Patterson |
| Date of birth | August 14, 1927 |
| Date of death | November 29, 1999 (aged 72) |
| Country |  Australia |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Track |
| Role | Rider |
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| 13 April 2008 | |
Sid Patterson (14 August 1927 – 29 November 1999) was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australian title between the distances of 1,000 metres and ten miles (16.1 km). He represented Australia in cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
In 1949 he won every Australian track championship in the sprint, time trial, 1 mile, and 5 mile (8.05 km) events. Later that year he won the World amateur sprint championship in Copenhagen, and in 1950, the World amateur pursuit championship in Liege. At the 1950 British Empire Games he won silver medals for the 1000 m Sprint and 1000 m Time Trial events.
In 1951 Patterson became a professional cyclist and won the world professional pursuit championships in 1952 in Paris, and in 1953 in Zurich. Patterson teamed with Russell Mockridge and Roger Arnold to win the Paris 6-Day Race in 1955, defeating the French favourites. Up to his final year of cycle racing in 1967 he had twelve consecutive Australian championship wins.
Sid Patterson was sponsored by Malvern Star, founded by Sir Bruce Small, and continued in the tradition of Sir Hubert Opperman.
At the age of 72 Sid Patterson lost his fight with liver cancer. The Sid Patterson Grand Prix is held in Melbourne annually in his honour. The first Sid Patterson Grand Prix was won by one of Australias great young talents Tommy Nankervis who was introduced to the sport after meeting Sid at a bike shop.
[edit] References
- Articles on Sid Patterson (Canberra Bicycle Museum) [1]
- Pictures of Sid Patterson (Manchester Wheelers' Club) [2]
