Thursday, March 28, 2024

Alf Engers (Part I) – “I Was Steered Towards Speed”

-

HomeInterviewsAlf Engers (Part I) - "I Was Steered Towards Speed"

‘A.R. Engers’ the start sheets used to say, ‘Alfred Robert’, or plain old Alf Engers, but to us he was ‘Alf’ or even ‘The King.’

Time trials weren’t boring affairs when Alf was on the throne.

He was a man on a mission; to take the British 25 mile record through the 30 miles per hour barrier – and more than 30 years after he broke the barrier there are still not many riders who can claim a ’49’ or faster.

And when Alf did it there were no skinsuits, tri-bars, discs, aero crash hats or Cervélos.

On the way to that mythical first 49 he broke the record three times and claimed the 25 title six times.

Alf Engers
No ‘aero’ equipment for Alf – lightness was the main goal in the 70’s.

But as well as the glory there was the heart break of punctures when on stellar rides way inside the 50 minute barrier, suspensions and the constant sniping of the ‘grey men’ – officials who hated this colourful man who brightened up a sport which was still steeped in the ‘black alpaca’ mentality.

VeloVeritas caught up with A.R. Engers to ‘talk 25 records.’

You were a child in war time London, Alf?

“My family was bombed out in Barnett during the war.

“We were in the air raid shelter and we could hear a V1 ‘doodle bug’ over head, there was an enormous ‘thump’ and everything came down on top of us, my dad had to dig us out.

“When we got out there was rubble everywhere and the house was on fire.”

How did you get into cycling?

“I was originally a runner but I was hit by a car and damaged my knee – I realised that I wasn’t going to do a sub four minute mile after that.

“As well as running I did a bit of swimming and cycling – I used to watch the massed starts at Finsbury Park.

“But the thing that began to grab my imagination was the thought of riding 25 miles at 30 miles per hour.

“Cyril Cartwright first broke the hour with 59:18 in 1944 but ‘straight’ out records were getting towards 30 mph and I though; ‘why can’t you do that out and home?’

“It took me two years to get into racing after my injury and at that time all of the fast TT guys came from the track and rode fixed.

“But a new generation of TT guys was on the way, like Breedon and Dungworth who rode big gears and the idea of the 30 mph 25 began to obsess me.”

But you weren’t just a tester – you were British junior road race champion.

“It was held on a triangular course with some sharp 90 degree corners, at Nottingham.

“There were four of us in the break including a guy called Jim George, he was hot favourite – he was unbeaten in seven races.

“On the last lap I heard his parents shout; ‘you’ve got it Jim!’

“But I was thinking; ‘we’ll need to see about that!'”

Alf Engers
Bernard Thomson’s classic image of Alf in full flight.

And kilometre champion?

“I was in the Polytechnic CC at the time and we had won the team pursuit championship, twice.

“My team mate, Sean Bannister used to get up my nose – his dad had money and Sean would arrive at a track meet with six pairs of wheels – when I’d said to him; ‘I’m going to enter the kilometre’ he replied; ‘is that a good idea? you’ll be wasting your time.’

“That was all I needed!”

You also posted the fastest ever pursuit in Britain at the time?

“Yes but I was working six days each week and I couldn’t get the time off to go to the track squad training weekends – I remember getting dragged in for taking time off work.”

The start of your big comeback was 1968?

“I broke the record in 1959 with 55:11 and was third in the 25 champs that year as a 19 year-old.

“I was away from the sport through the 60’s because I’d ridden as an ‘Independent’ and the RTTC wouldn’t reinstate me until ’68.

“In 1968 I was joint second in the 25 champs behind Ray Ward but I won it in ’69 and took the record twice – 51:59 and 51:00. [Alf won the championship six times: ’69, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75 and ’76].”

But what about the ‘disappearances’ to go fishing?

“My father was a fisherman and I was involved in carp fishing from an young age.

“Early on I developed a love of the great outdoors and the quietness that’s goes with fishing.

“I still like the countryside – I’ve walked the West Highland way.

“Sometimes I’d just get fed up with what I was doing and get the rods out.

“I had a lot of people on my back – when I was with the Woolwich CC they rode Intercycle bikes and the guy behind that wanted results.”

Alan Shorter was your mentor and the name on your frame for a lot of your career.

“He’s still alive, into his 90’s now – he was my inspiration; when I was in the Barnett CC, he shepherded me through the early stages of my career.”

Who coached you?

“Frank Westell, he lives eight miles from me.

“He wasn’t one of those cranky trainers who cling on to old ideas – it was him who steered me towards speed.”

Alf Engers
Alan Rochford with one of Alf’s frames.

Alan Rochford was on your ‘team’ too?

“He’s my life long friend, he retired from racing to build a bike business – which did very successfully.

“He understood me and knew my temperament – if you have fast twitch muscles then that’s linked to your mental state.

“I never thought about suicide but have been on the edge of depression.

“Look at Darryl Webster and Graeme Obree, very talented but prone to depression.”

Tell us about your mental preparation.

“That’s 100% essential.

“I read that the Rolling Stones, before they go on stage can’t have any hassle, they have to be totally focussed on what they’re about to do.

“I had to have silence before a race to get my mind clear for the job ahead.

“Sometimes the last words I heard would go round and round my head.”

Alf Engers
Alf worked on his mental fitness as well as his speed.

The RTTC?

“Everything I did I had an RTTC guy watching me.

“The last big suspension I had wasn’t right. In 1976 I’d been training on the Q25/3 and knew it well – the night in question I knew it was ‘the’ night.

“On Swansconbe cutting I had to move out to avoid debris that had come off a builder’s lorry which had overturned. The chairman of the Kent RTTC saw me do it and put his slant on it.

“Then a police car came alongside me and the forced me off the road.

“On the chart it was a 46 that night or at worst a 47.

“The RTTC used to brief their officials to keep a ‘special watch’ for me.”

And what do you do now?

“I’m a baker in a 24 hour bagel shop in the East End – it’s open 24/7, 365 days each year.”

Regrets?

“No, I did what I set out to do, I took the record under 50 minutes and realised my dream.”

Alf Engers
Alf gave his time trialling everything he had. Image©BikeBrothers.

In Part II we’ll talk with Alf about that special day when the 25 mile comp record began with “4” for the first time.

Images © Cycling Weekly, unless otherwise stated.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

Related Articles

Evan Oliphant – 2010 Drummond Trophy Winner

The 2010 edition of the Drummond Trophy saw Endura's domination of the domestic road racing scene march on with a 1-2 for Evan Oliphant and James McCallum; and only a determined Robert Hassan kept Ross Creber off the podium and prevented an Endura whitewash.

Kenny De Ketele – “I need goals to aim for”

Dreams, we all have them, but most of us don’t realise them. When Kenny De Ketele was a boy, he’d go to the Kuipke velodrome in Gent to watch the Six Days and dream of riding and winning on the hallowed boards. And he’d look at the World Champions in their sparkling white rainbow jerseys and dream of the day when he could pull one over his head.

La Vuelta a España 2012 – Stage 5: Logroño – Logroño 168.0 km

Argos’s John Degenkolb was ‘speechless’ about his second stage win in Logroño; but did manage to say that the last K was crazy fast and his team did a great job for him – that sounds about right.

Paul Kilbourne – Part Two; ANC ‘Professionalise’, Ride the Tour, then … Stop

We left our tale with Paul Kilbourne with ANC having ridden well in Ghent-Wevelgem and won the Sealink International and Kellogg’s City Centre Series but Paul felt that a more serious approach to support staff was required...

At Random

Bert Roesems – First Rides on Electric Campagnolo

Given that Shimano's Di2 system has been commercially available for quite a while now, it could be argued that Campagnolo have taken their time to get to market with electronic gearing, but they're obviously focused on getting it all perfect before launching, as it's nearly four years ago that we spoke to Predictor-Lotto's Bert Roesems, who had been singled out by the Italian company to use their electronic components in the toughest test arena of them all - the Spring Classics.

Eric Van Lancker – the Israël DS who was a Classics Winner in the 80’s and 90’s

When we think of ‘Men of the Classics’ of the late 80’s and early 90’s names like Sean Kelly, Moreno Argentin, the late Claude Criquielion, Adrie van der Poel and Gianni Bugno come to mind. A name we perhaps overlook is that of Belgium’s Eric Van Lancker, despite the fact that he won four World Cup races and was a fixture on the world’s most successful team of the day – Peter Post’s mighty Panasonic armada.

Het Nieuwsblad 2018 goes to Michael Valgren Andersen

"Ooooohhhhhhh!" The moan echoes around the bar; these boys are aficionados, they all know that solid Astana Dane, Michael Valgren Andersen isn't coming back - he timed his jump to perfection, there was that fatal second or two of hesitation among the frozen men behind him and he was gone, en route to win Het Nieuwsblad 2018.

John Montgomery

Within days of us losing one of the younger pillars of Scottish cycle sport in Rab Wardell we also lost one of our elder statesmen in John Montgomery, another man who I’ve been, ‘meaning to catch up with,’ – sadly, too late.