Ken Ross
Ken Ross, 1917
Personal information
Full nameKen Gordon Ferndale Ross
Born(1900-08-11)11 August 1900
Patterson, NSW
Died1 March 1974(1974-03-01) (aged 73)
Gosford, NSW
Team information
DisciplineRoad / Track
RoleRider
Major wins
1st and fastest 1928 Goulburn to Sydney, fastest 1920 & 1926

Ken Gordon Ferndale Ross (1900–1974) was an Australian road and track cyclist. His best results were achieved in the Goulburn to Sydney, where he set the fastest time on three occasions and in the Sydney Six-day race which he won three times.

Cycling career

Ross began cycling for the Parramatta club in 1917, winning the Parramatta championship that year. His first major success was finishing 2nd in the Goulburn to Sydney and setting the fastest time.[1] He would subsequently set the fastest time in 1926 [2] and 1928 including winning the handicap event in 1928.[3] The 1928 Goulburn to Sydney was the first professional road race by Fatty Lamb who had set the fastest time in the previous three amateur events. Ross was 3rd fastest professional in 1930 [4] and 4th in 1931.[5]

Ross's success in the Goulburn to Sydney resulted in his selection for the Warrnambool to Melbourne, where the title of Long Distance Road Champion of Australasia was awarded to the fastest time over the full distance of 165 miles (266 km). However Ross' best result was the 3rd fastest time in 1930.[6]

In 1927 Ross set the fastest time in the Bathurst to Sydney race in a new record of 7h 2' 5".[7] Ross purchased an orchard in 1924 and this restricted his ability to train and to race. There were three big stage races in Australia during Ross's career. Ross was among the first riders selected for the Dunlop Grand Prix in 1927,[8] but didn't start.[9] In 1930 Ross was reported as having retired,[10] however he continued to ride. He was selected for the Sydney to Sydney to Melbourne in 1930 [11] but again did not start. In 1934 Ross was riding from his home in Gosford to Albury as training for the Centenary 1000 when he was hit by a car driver attempting to overtake him on the Hume Highway near Gundagai. Ross' claim for damages included £20 for his bicycle, £20 appearance money, £6 for wages paid while absent, £5 for train tare back home, and £45 for training expenses, as well as pain and suffering and for loss of prospective prize money. The jury awarded him £196.[12] Ross retired shortly after the collision.[7]

While best known as a road rider, Ross also had success in six-day racing. His first six-day race was in 1919 at Sydney where he was unplaced behind Willie Spencer and Charles Osterriter.[13] In Europe in 1921 Ross competed in the Brussels six-day finishing 9th.[7] In 1922 Ross teamed with Willie Spencer for the Berlin six-day. Spencer withdrew after 3 days and joined German rider Adolf Huschke. They were penalised a lap for the team change but were able to finish 4th.[7] On his return to Australia, he won the Sydney six day with George Hammond,[13] and went on to win the event twice more, in 1925 with George Dempsey [13] and 1927 with Jack Fitzgerald [14]

Palmarès

1917
1st Parramatta championship
1919
unplaced Sydney Six day
1920
2nd and fastest Goulburn to Sydney [1]
4th 24 hours race
1921
Tour de Paris
9th Brussels six-day [7]
1922
4th Berlin six-day [7]
1st Sydney six day race [13]
1923
six-day race – Melbourne [13]
1st Easter Wheel Race
1925
1st Sydney six day race [13]
1926
2nd and fastest professional Goulburn to Sydney [2]
1927
1st Sydney six day [14]
1928
1st and fastest professional Goulburn to Sydney [3]
1930
3rd fastest professional Goulburn to Sydney [4]
3rd fastest professional Warrnambool to Melbourne [6]
1931
4th fastest professional Goulburn to Sydney [4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Cycling". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 22 September 1920. p. 15.
  2. 1 2 "Cycling, Goulburn to Sydney". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 20 September 1926. p. 8.
  3. 1 2 "Big cycling test". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1928. p. 17.
  4. 1 2 3 "Middle marker to champion". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 17 September 1930. p. 20.
  5. ↑ "313 starters in Goulburn Sydney classic". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 23 September 1931. p. 19.
  6. 1 2 ""Fatty" Lamb wrests road championship title from Opperman". The Sporting Globe. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 4 October 1930. p. 2.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ken Ross cycling collection". National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Dunlop Grand Prix. First 60 riders selected". The Argus (Melbourne). Vic.: National Library of Australia. 28 September 1927. p. 23.
  9. ↑ "Australian cyclists for French classics". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 December 1927. p. 17.
  10. ↑ "Cycling sidelights". Sydney Sportsman. Surry Hills, NSW: National Library of Australia. 11 February 1930. p. 14.
  11. ↑ "Opperman's big task". The Sporting Globe. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 15 October 1930. p. 12.
  12. ↑ "Supreme Court. Cyclist awarded damages". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 9 April 1936. p. 6.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Australian Six Day Races". www.sixday.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Six Days' Cycling Spoiled". The Referee. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1927. p. 19.
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