Page:The fastest bicycle rider in the world - 1928 - Taylor.djvu/113

 again, especially in the one-mile championship race which came the next day.

Now for the inside story of how I won the world's one-mile championship at the same meet, and it is being told here for the first time.

I was positive that I could win the race as far as speed alone was concerned. But in spite of my very best judgment and after using every precaution I avoided being caught in a pocket only by the narrowest margin. Just coming into the back stretch on the second lap there was considerable finessing and jockeying for positions.

Dashing into the home stretch on the last lap, Nat Butler was leading at a very fast clip. I was following him with Tom Butler on my rear wheel, D'Outreion next, with McLeod bringing up the rear. We crossed the tape in that order as the crowd cheered wildly and were going great guns as we swept around the turn into the back stretch. Everything was going along nicely up to this point when suddenly the positions changed, as we swept into the back stretch.

I quickly saw a pocket opening up for me, but thanks to the big Canadian Champion, Angus McLeod, who at the same instant made a mighty dash for the finish line at about 250 yards from home, I avoided the pocket.

I had an abundance of reserve power, in fact, I did not dare risk putting my full force into my jump for fear of damaging my trusty machine. According to the track rules, if an accident happened on the last lap the race could not be re-run unless the winner agreed to such a procedure as a matter of sportsmanship in case an opponent was put out of the race through a mishap. So I simply unwound a lively sprint and quickly brought the canny Scot, McLeod, back. I instantly realized that the only obstacles in my way at this critical point to the world's championship were the two Butler brothers, Nat and Tom, and I also realized that they were two tough hurdles to take.

I adopted new tactics the moment I overtook McLeod. I knew that McLeod was no longer a factor so I but kept a very close watch on the Butlers from under my arm until they started their last desperate struggle as we flew into the last turn. It was now a thrilling fight with victory almost within my grasp. As we swung into the home stretch our three front wheels were almost abreast. At a glance I realized that for the first time in my life I was going to be able to make that last supreme effort to break the tape first without interference of any kind. In a word, the four of us came down that home stretch much the same as sprinters are confined to their lanes in a 100-yard dash. It was a fair field—there was no crowding or elbowing, it was a case of winning or losing the world's championship on merit alone.