Brian Jolly

During the late 1960s and early 70s, cyclist Brian Jolly was the man to beat in amateur road races in the United Kingdom. He hailed from South Yorkshire, an area that produced so many great cyclists including the legendary Tom Simpson. A member of the Sheffield Phoenix club, Jolly won some important races as an amateur, including the Tour of Ireland (1965), North Midlands BCF title (1966, 1968), Tour of Scotland (1969), National Road Race Championship (1969), and London to York race (1970). Additionally, Jolly won four stages in the Tour of Britain Mike Race and two stages in the Tour of Morocco, and was second on stage two of the prestigious Tour de l’Avenir in 1969.

Jolly took part in the 1968 Peace Race and competed at the Mexico Olympics that same year, finishing 50th in the road race. He turned professional in 1970 and rode for the Carlton and TI Raleigh teams in a five-year pro career, the highlight of which was in beating Les West to win the 1973 National Professional Road Race Championship. Jolly also won the fourth edition of the Tom Simpson Memorial Race in 1971.

Jolly decided to quit cycling after an accident in the 1974 Paris-Tours race and later emigrated to Canada with his wife Betty-Anne Gowans, a member of the Canadian canoe team he met at the Mexico Olympics. Jolly became a surveyor and was also head of Canadian Cycling and worked with the UCI.