Page:The fastest bicycle rider in the world - 1928 - Taylor.djvu/150

 “The first lap was covered in :24 and the second in :43. There was no change in the order until entering the back stretch on the third lap when Taylor made his famous jump and opened a wide gap at once. Freeman was not quite ready for the jump though he got going as quickly as possible and around the turn he gained a little, but the jump made by Taylor was too much. Freeman could not make it up and finished several yards back at the tape. Tom Butler and Alex McLean made a pretty race for third place. Butler landed the position in a mad sprint from the last turn, beating the Chelsea man by a foot, while Collette was a poor last. The time was 1:25.

“Austin Stone and Oscar Hedstrom came on the track with the Hedstrom motor which is considered the fastest in the business. This team was selected to pace Major Taylor in his trial for a record. The crowd had never seen a motorcycle before and went wild over its speed. Major Taylor came out while the motor was circling the track and began riding. He made a pick-up on the lower turn and did it very cleverly. He followed the machine around for a number of laps, the audience marveling at his ability to stick to it so closely. When he passed the officials the second time, he signalled that he would start the next time around and the word was given.

“He rode finely and the half was made in :46 1/5 which was close to a 1:32 clip and the speed did not diminish for the next two laps. On the last lap the speed was increased a trifle but Taylor hung right on to it, and around the turn through the back stretch they tore into the home stretch across the tape in the remarkable time of 1:37. Taylor was given a great ovation.”