Duncan "Don" Kirkham (23 July 1887 - 30 April 1930) was an Australian

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

. Kirkham was a regular competitor in Australian long distance cycling races. He won the Goulburn to Sydney Classic in 1910, riding off scratch and setting the fastest time. In 1911 he was 2nd and set the fastest time, riding the in a record time of 6h 19' 31". Kirkham's time was not beaten until 1925 by Richard "Fatty" Lamb. He had previously finished 5th in 1909. and finished outside the top 20 in 1912. In 6 attempts, Kirkham was never able to set the fastest time nor win the Warrnambool to Melbourne Classic, his best result being 2nd fastest time in 1922. He finished 28th in 1907, 128th in 1908, 18th in 1909, 19th in 1910 and 21st in 1923. Kirkham intended to retire after the 1924 Warrnambool, however he was knocked down by a motor car two weeks prior to the race. He competed in the 1914 Tour de France with

Iddo Munro Iddo "Snowy" Munro (26 March 1888 – 27 October 1980) was an Australian racing cyclist. The highlights of his career were winning the Australasian long distance road championship in 1909 and competing in the 1914 Tour de France. Munro won ...

and finished 17th in 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 ...

. His best result was 9th in Stage 13, a mountain stage from

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

Longwy Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label= Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a commune in the French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens'' ...

. After the Tour, whilst in Paris he won a bet in riding in 60 minutes. Kirkham took up farming during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and resumed racing in 1920. Kirkham was a successful six-day racer in Australia. Kirkham's last race was the Cycle Traders 100 mile in 1924. He was returning home from that race when he was hit by a car and was so badly injured that he was forced to retire. He coached

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 ...

in his first race. He died on 30 April 1930 in

St Arnaud, Victoria St Arnaud is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, 244 kilometres north west of the capital Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area. At the , St Arnaud had a population of 2,318. It is named ...

. He was buried in Dandenong Cemetery.

Major results

;1910 :1st

Scone A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

:1st and fastest Goulburn to Sydney Classic ;1911 :2nd and fastest Goulburn to Sydney Classic ;1913 :1st in Melbourne, Six Days ;1914 :17th general classification Tour de France :9th Milan - Sanremo ;1922 :2nd fastest Warrnambool to Melbourne Classic

References

External links

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Official Tour de France results for Don Kirkham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkham, Don 1887 births 1930 deaths Australian male cyclists