Albert Walters

A member of the Polytechnic CC, Albert Walters started racing in 1892 and his first major distance race was a 12-hour race at Herne Hill in 1894 for the Anchor Shield, which he won ahead of Arthur Chase, with a new record of just over 415 km (258 miles). Known as, “Jenny”, Walters’ biggest victory of his career was in winning the coveted Bol d’Or 24-hour endurance race in Paris in 1899. His winning distance of 1,020.977 km (634.41 miles) was a then world record even though he was motor paced.

Also in 1899, he won the Paris-Dijon, was second in the European professional motor-paced race, and won the Berlin 6-day race, which took his season’s winnings to beyond £1,000. The following year, when the 24-hour race formed part of the Olympic Programme, albeit as a non-medal event, Walters looked certain to retain his title and led from the start until the 20-hour mark when a knee injury and exhaustion forced him to retire, and he was eventually classified sixth behind the Dutch winner, Matthieu Cordang.

Before losing the lead, Walters set a new world record for every hour from three to 19. Five days earlier, Walters came second in the 100-mile race. He raced mostly on the continent at the turn of the century, because there was so little professional cycling in Britain at the time. A very popular rider, he also designed bicycles and invested his winnings wisely in a flourishing London tailor’s business.