Mike Gambrill

A draughtsman by profession, Mike Gambrill was a great sprint cyclist in the 1950s. He set the 50-mile and 30-mile tandem record with Alan Killick, when their time of 1-00:48 stood as a record for 18 years. Gambrill won the national 25-mile time trial in 1956 and followed that with the first of two successive national individual pursuit titles, when he beat Tom Simpson in the final. Gambrill was selected for the team pursuit at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when the GB quartet beat South Africa to take the bronze medal.

Gambrill beat Norman Sheil for his second national pursuit title in 1957 and also teamed up with Sheil, and his own brother Robin to win the national 25-mile team time trial title. Mike lost the chance to make it three consecutive national pursuit wins when beaten by Simpson in 1958. Gambrill was also in the Clarence Wheelers quartet that finished second to Melling Wheelers in the British National Team Pursuit Championship. Consolation came for him when he won that year’s coveted Manchester Wheelers Muratti Gold Cup.

Clarence wheelers captured the national team pursuit title when they beat Melling in 1959, and riding alongside Gambrill was his younger brother Robin. Mike also won that year’s 40km Dresden Madison with Norman Sheil.

Gambrill appeared in his second Olympics at Rome in 1960, but the GB four was beaten in the 4,000 metres Team Pursuit by Denmark in their heat.

Mike Gambrill died in 2011, the year before Bradley Wiggins won Olympic gold when, ironically, the route took the riders past the front door of Gambrill’s old house.