Mark Blackwelder on the right, riding a Russ Denny and a Veloshop rider (comment if you know who it is) riding a de Mayo Velosystems.

The bike on the right is a gorgeous new machine from Ira Ryan, with a vintage Raleigh-inspired paint job, and running what, from a distance, looked like a set of classic Suntour Superbe Pro track hubs.

“FOR the third time in five years a Russian quartet came home victorious in the team pursuit, this time with the most convincing win one could possibly expect.

They smashed the Italians’ morale, rhythm, timing, everything, with a powerhouse display in the final– they even finished all four of their team together, 4-34.89, not the fastest of the series, but they already had had that from the qualifying round anyway.”

The sidebar discusses the disqualification of Ron Baensch (one of the riders in this photo) for using ephedrine. Ah, the days before EPO… One of the other riders disqualifed was Charly Grosskost, who “is the rider who was thrown out of the Tour de l’Avenir after being found in a drugged state by the side of the road in the Tour two years ago.”

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“Nine years’ professional sprint domination by the Italian school of sprinting came to an ignominious end at Amsterdam when young Patrick Sercu, the confident Belgian lad from Roeslare, who told Cycling three years ago that he would stay at the top for 20 years, won his first professional world championship from Giuseppe Beghetto in the most convincing manner.”

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“YOSHIKAWA of Japan (right) caused a sensation in the pro sprint first round by beating Ron Baensch.”

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From Cycling, September 9, 1967:

During the 1967 Track Championships in Amsterdam.

“FRENCH ACE Michel Rousseau tried his wiles in the pro sprint against Italian Damiano.”

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“NOW RIDING towards his 41st six-day win is big Peter Post, unquestioned king of the big-time Sixes, and a rider whose forceful style has made him a favourite with crowds everywhere on road and track. Beaten by Merckx at Heerlen in the world championship and at Ghent in the Six, Peter still showed how to ride when he happed the world champion three times behind Derny pace. Will he take his record 41st Six at Amsterdam? The whole of Holland hopes and expects him to.”

Peter Post was a Dutch rider, who won the Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent, or Six Days of Ghent, in 1966 (with Swissman Fritz Pfenninger) and 68 (with fellow Dutchman Leo Duyndam), but not in ‘67 to which the text refers. That’s the road world championships which he lost to Eddie in ‘67.

Post won the 1964 Paris-Roubaix, setting what is still the average speed record of 45.129 km/h, or 28 mph (!). I can’t imagine going his speed over pave, but I bet it was a dry day. Post later went on to be manager of several teams, including the infamous TI-Raleigh team during the 1970s.

Unfortunately, Post didn’t win the Six at Amsterdam in 1967, losing to Palle Lykke and Freddy Eugen from Denmark (results), but did win in 1969 with Belgian Romain DeLoof.

1972.

1973 and 1974. In ‘74, the classic red and yellow scheme was introduced in the Team Professional, but the Track was still in the old scheme. (74 tech specs):

1975 and 1976. (75 tech specs)

Roy Schuiten, 1974 World Professional Pursuit Champion, in the 1975 catalog:

And a 1979 on Flickr: