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Team Falcon Cycles

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A Top British Team of the 1960’s and 70’s
 
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Here is a publicity shot of the Falcon Cycles team from 1970 - Albert Hitchen, Mick Holmes, John Aslin, Danny Horton and Bill Lawrie.

And below another ... this time from 1973 when the team had become Falcon-Tighe with a new line-up. Now Albert Hitchen was the manager of Reg Barnett, Mick Holmes, Dave Mitchell, Keith Lambert and Jim Moore.

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I was working in Australia from 1971 onwards so missed seeing most of the team’s exploits. Does anyone have any Falcon team memorabilia to share? I’ve seen plenty of replica team jerseys produced for continental teams but nothing for Falcon - so are there any originals still out there?

This is, as far as I can work out, the Falcon team breakdown by year -

Year

Riders

1959

Geoff BYE, Frank CLEMENTS, John PERKS, Harry REYNOLDS

1960

Harry REYNOLDS

1961

John PERKS

1962

Peter LAFERTY, John PERKS

1963

John HARVEY, Bill HOLMES, Peter LAFERTY, John PERKS, John WOODBURN

1964

Bernard BURNS, Albert HITCHIN, Bill HOLMES, John PERKS, Brian WILTCHER, John WOODBURN

1965

Bob ADDY, Bill BRADLEY (?), Bernard BURNS, Albert HITCHIN, Bill HOLMES

1966

Bernard BURNS, Derek GREEN, Bill HOLMES, Mike STALLARD, Steve TAYLOR

1967

Graham BUFTON, Bill HOLMES, Mike STALLARD

1968

Tony GOWLAND, Albert HITCHIN, Bill LAWRIE, Billy PERKINS, Brian SANDY, Mike STALLARD

1969

John ASLIN, Mike COOPE, Dave DUNGWORTH, Albert HITCHIN, Bill HOLMES, Bill LAWRIE

1970

John ASLIN, John ATKINS, Shay ELLIOTT, Albert HITCHIN, Mick HOLMES, Danny HORTON, Bill LAWRIE

1971

John ASLIN, Reg BARNETT, Nigel DEAN, Albert HITCHIN, Mick HOLMES, Danny HORTON
Keith LAMBERT, Bill LAWRIE, Dave MITCHELL, Brian RUSTON, Peter SMITH, Eric STONE

1972

Reg BARNETT, Nigel DEAN, Reg HARRIS, Albert HITCHIN, Mick HOLMES, Keith LAMBERT
Dave MITCHELL, Jim MOORE

1973

Reg BARNETT, Daryl BRASSINGTON, Graham BUFTON, Phil CARNALL, Geoff DUTTON
Graeme GILMORE, Peter HEAD, Norman HILL, Jock KERR, Keith LAMBERT, Jim MOORE, Dave NIE

1974

Graham BUFTON

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From ICS March 1973 -

Falcon-Tighe The Blues

THE blue, white, and red jerseys of the Falcon-Tighe team have become among the most familiar on the British pro' scene which is hardly surprising when one thinks that the team was first established way back in 1959. With Falcon boss Ernie Clements a three times national road race champion himself it seems the most natural thing in the world for him to want to be involved in cycle sport and involved he certainly is. Probably the best rider ever to wear the Falcon colours has been Albert
Hitchen who had some of his best years while riding for the Barton-on-Humber concern and who now of course manages the team. The 1972 season saw them launch a new look team of Reg Barnett. Mick Holmes, and Dave Mitchell being joined by Jim Moore and new pro' Keith Lambert. Based on the previous season only Barnett looked likely to have a great deal of success, after all he was the reigning national sprint champion and had had a good season on the road.

Mick Holmes would be among the first to admit that a few weeks after turning professional in 1969 he had doubts about whether he had done the right thing or not. None of the instant success stuff for Mick, he had to learn the hard way, but by the beginning of 1972 he had learned a lot. The superb sprinting abilities of Bantel's Sid Barras denied him a win in the Holdsworthy Criterium in March but it was very close. Come the R.B.M. three day in Otley at Easter and Mick finally found success taking the first stage in a big bunch sprint in front of Dutchman Peter Kisner (Holdsworth) and his own team mate Reg. Barnett. This early season success did a lot for Mick Holmes own confidence and it also did a lot for the respect the other pro's had for him and from Easter onwards he became one of the the marked men. Dave Mitchell too was quietly successful in the R.B.M. event his consistency taking him up to 6th place overall but it wasn't to be a happy season for this former Kirkby CC international and he ultimately retired. Into April Mick Holmes was still managing to find one man too fast for him, Sid Barras in the Wrekinsport event and Colin Lewis (Holdsworth) in the first stage of the Islington Grand Prix, where he had to settle once again for being second on General Classification.

The London-Battle-London came in April and this time it was the turn of Reg Barnett to find that Barras edge at the finish just too much but even now this team that was such an unknown quantity at the beginning of the season was doing nicely thank you. There is a top class racing pedigree in the men behind the current team, as I said earlier Ernie Clements won the B.L.R.C. national road title in 1943 and '45, then took the N.C.U. title in 1946. A best placing of 13th in his three outings in the world championships and a place in the team for the 1948 Olympics is a fair guide to the calibre of the man. He retired in 1953 then in 1954 younger brother Frank started to keep the Clements name to the fore-front. His career stretched over 6 years during which he rode for Great Britain and he was in the cash ranks in Falcon colours when he retired in 1960. Oddly enough they never raced together "we could never afford four tyres at the same time" quips Ernie.

Jack Tighe who provides the Extra-sportif backing for the team was better known as a track man winning the national 880 yards grass title once and representing Great Britain many times. Keith Lambert after a steady opening to the season learning the trade found form and success in the second stage of the Tour of the West when he sensationally outsprinted Les West (Holdsworth) to take the Yellow Jersey. He only held it for a day but he knew now that he could hold his own among the top men as he was to prove later in the season during the national championship. At the finish of the Tour of the West Barnett was looking forward to the approaching track season knowing that there were prizes to be won. Holmes struck again in the Norfolk Park Criterium at Sheffield beating Barnett into second place but that big win still eluded the team. For a man who was holding a full time job down as well, Holmes was having a remarkably good season. It had to come though and it did. The Tom Simpson Memorial road race is one the pro's would all like to win and it is usually a corking race. The 1972 edition was no exception with the Falcon squad well represented in the break. With one lap to go it was Jim Moore who jumped away and took a 30 seconds lead. The pursuit match that took place in the final lap was an intriguing affair as Moore's lead was whittled away a second time until at the line it it was a matter of lengths but he'd won it with Mick Holmes taking the gallop for second place. A week earlier in the national championship Lambert had been in the day long break that the winner, Gary Crewe (Holdsworth), had come from, but disappointingly missed out on the medals having to settle for 4th place at the finish.

Round about this time of the season Barnett was having a good spell on the tracks winning the main events at the Fyffes meeting and others too before the highlight of his season, winning the national sprint championship for the third time. In between track events he had found time to win the Felixstowe Criterium. Into September Mick Holmes was still getting into the prizes so the season, a season that had been dominated by one man from another team, ended, and I think there had been as much success in the Falcon camp as one might have expected. Jim Moore kept the colours to the fore-front in cyclo-cross racing in the North-West. Another season now approaches and once again there has been a shuffle in the Falcon pack. Gone are Holmes and Barnett and in their place the Coventry Eagle-Tighe team of Peter Head, Daryl Brassington, Jock Kerr, Phil Carnall and Geoff Dutton have been drafted into the Blues to join Lambert and Moore. With a full season behind them last year new boys Kerr, Dutton and Carnal) should all be better for the experience. Kerr could be one of the revelations of the coming season. Never afraid to "have a go" he did well in the national pursuit championships last year at the first time of asking while at the end of the season Geoff Dutton was really going well. I have the feeling that Falcon-Tighe will be up among the winners yet again in 1973 and that will please all the racing men behind the scenes.

Remember When Brian Robinson Team Falcon Cycles Tour of Europe Eddy's 1969 Bike 1954 Tour of Britain Vintage Advertising 1959 Manx Premier

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