Donald John Allan (born 24 September 1949) is an Australian former

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

who rode at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

and

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. Allan began cycling with the Blackburn Cycling Club in Melbourne. In 1970, he was paralysed in a car accident, breaking his back and fracturing his sacrum and pelvis. He returned to compete in the individual road race and team time trial events at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. In 1973, Allan rode in the big amateur races across Europe and won stages in cycling's version of the Cold War Tour de France, the

Peace Race The Peace Race (german: Friedensfahrt, cs, Závod míru, sk, Preteky mieru, russian: Велогонка Мира (), pl, Wyścig Pokoju , french: Course de la Paix, it, Corsa della Pace, ro, Cursa Păcii) was an annual multiple stage bicycl ...

, as well as the

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria (german: Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt) is a stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2 ...

, Tour of Scotland, and multiple criteria in Holland and kermesses in Belgium. In November 1973, he was offered a pro contract with Dutch team Frisol. He rode in the

1974 Tour de France The 1974 Tour de France was the 61st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 21 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Eddy Merckx was attempting to win his fifth Tour de France in as ...

as a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In I ...

for Frisol and finished 103rd. In the

1975 Tour de France The 1975 Tour de France was the 62nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 26 June and 20 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Eddy Merckx was attempting to win his sixth Tour de France, but b ...

, he finished 85th. In 1976 Allan finished 9th in the 1976 UCI Road World Championships in Italy. Allan with Danny Clark were the fifth most successful team in

Six-day racing Six-day cycling is a track cycling event that competes over six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, ...

history with 15 wins, 15 second places, 11 third places and 12 fourth places off 71 starts. Another fractured pelvis and other injuries effectively ended his career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Donald 1949 births Living people Australian male cyclists Australian track cyclists Australian Vuelta a España stage winners Cyclists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Australia Cyclists from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state)