Barry Waddell (born 21 October 1936,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

) is one of Australia's best-known cyclists of the 1960s (he was a professional rider from 1963 to 1970). Waddell won a record 5 straight

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

s from 1964 to 1968. Although best known as a road cyclist, Waddell was in fact an "all-rounder", having also won a number of national track titles. He won the Australian national road race title in 1964 and 1968. He won the

General Classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

in the

five years in a row (1964-1968) when the Sun Tour was at its most gruelling, covering 1200 miles (1920 km) in nine days. Waddell took fastest-time honours in the Melbourne-to-Warrnambool road race no fewer than three times and won the Sir

Hubert Opperman Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE (29 May 1904 – 18 April 1996), referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acc ...

trophy twice, breaking Opperman's record from Adelaide to Melbourne (22 hours). Subsequently, after his professional cycling career had finished, he also won the 1975 world veterans' title in Austria. Waddell came to Melbourne in 1956, married in 1960 and has remained a Victorian ever since. He was a dominant road rider for two decades and has earned the title "cycling immortal". Although considered a road specialist, his 17 Australian championship wins included several sprints. In the

s typically he would ride up to 100 miles (160 km) in the mornings, followed by another 100 miles in the afternoons. During one period in 1965, he won the Melbourne-to-Lakes Entrance road race one weekend, followed by his record-breaking Adelaide-Melbourne ride on the Tuesday, achieved fastest time in the Melbourne-to-Warrnambool road race the following Saturday, and then rode throughout a three-day carnival in Port Pirie before commencing the gruelling

the following Saturday (which he won), taking 1st place in no fewer than 14 of the 18 stages. For over 50 years, Waddell operated a bike shop business on the Burwood Highway, Melbourne, until 2011 when he was 74 years of age.

Palmarès

;1958 :3rd National Road Championship, Elite ;1960 :3rd Melbourne Six Day ;1961 :3rd Perth Six Day ;1962 :2nd Launceston Six Day ;1963 :1st Perth Six Day (with Ian Campbell) ;1964 :1st GC

:1st National Road Championships Elite :1st National Road Championships Amateurs ;1965 :1st GC

:1st Launceston Six Day (with Ian Campell) ;1966 :1st GC

:3rd Launceston Six Day :2nd Whyalla Six Day :2nd Melbourne Six Day :Fastest Time Cootamundra Annual Classic ;1967 :1st GC

:2nd Launceston Six Day :1st Maryborough Six Day (with

Sid Patterson Sydney Patterson (also known as Sid Patterson, 14 August 1927 – 29 November 1999) was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australi ...

) :1st Whyalla Six Day (with Joe Ciavola) ;1968 :1st GC

:2nd Launceston Six Day :1st National Road Championships Elite :1st National Road Championships Amateurs :2nd Melbourne Six Day ;1969 :3rd Launceston Six Day :1st Melbourne Six Day (with Ian Stinger) ;1970 :3rd Melbourne Six Day ;1971 :2nd in Launceston, Six Day ;1975 :1st world veterans' title (in Austria)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, Barry 1937 births Living people Australian male cyclists Cyclists from Western Australia Sportsmen from Western Australia Cyclists from Melbourne