Page:The fastest bicycle rider in the world - 1928 - Taylor.djvu/153

 true today. The Vailsburg fans liked my style of riding from the very first time I competed there. They seemed to appreciate my efforts, were always very fair to me and gave me very generously of their applause.

I realized these facts very well as I trained faithfully for this quarter-mile championship race, incidentally, I knew I had a man-sized job on my hands if I were to win this big event and anticipated the

bitterest battle of my life down that home stretch if I were to lead the pack home. I was trained to the minute for this big classic and was never in better fettle than on the afternoon of the race, the weather being well nigh perfect and the fans giving me a tremendous ovation as I came onto the track.

The manner in which the heats were run placed only the three best men in the final, which in a short race of this kind gave each man a good chance, providing there was no frame-up—that is none of that “two-against-one” business.

I was a little nervous when we were called to the starting line for the deciding heat of this big race. However, when I noticed that I was pitted against Frank Kramer and Johnnie Fisher for the laurels I gave a sigh of relief. This was not due to the fact that I underrated these two stars, not by a long shot, as they were two great riders and very smart in tactics. I had the utmost respect for them as sprinters but I knew that they were not on friendly terms with one another and that convinced me that each of them would be out to win on his