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{{short description|English cyclist}}
'''Norman Sheil''' (born Nottingham, England, 22 October 1932<ref>http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=23621</ref>) is a retired racing cyclist who won world pursuit championships for Britain in 1955<ref>http://www.bikecult.com/bikecultbook/sports_trackWorlds1.html</ref> and 1958 and rode the Tour de France in 1960<ref>http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/fr/TDF/1960/coureurs/126.html</ref>. He became national coach of the [[British Cycling Federation]] and later of the Canadian federation. He returned to racing in the 1990s and won the world points championship for over-65s.<ref>http://www.fatnick.com/picns1.htm</ref>

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox cyclist
| name = Norman Sheil
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| fullname = Norman Leslie Sheil
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1932|10|22}}
| birth_place = [[Liverpool]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age |2018|10|25|1932|10|22|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario]], Canada
| height =
| weight =
| currentteam =
| discipline = [[Road bicycle racing|Road]] and [[Track cycling|track]]
| role = Rider
| ridertype = Endurance
| amateuryears1 =
| amateurteam1 = Melling Wheelers
| proyears1 =
| proteam1 =
| majorwins =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{ENG}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[UCI World Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1955 UCI Track Cycling World Championships|1955 Milan]] | Individual pursuit}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1958 UCI Track Cycling World Championships|1958 Paris]] | Individual pursuit}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games|British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1954 Vancouver]]|[[Cycling at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|Individual pursuit]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1958 Cardiff]]|[[Cycling at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|Individual pursuit]]}}
| show-medals = yes
}}
'''Norman Leslie Sheil''' (22 October 1932 – 25 October 2018) was a racing cyclist who won world pursuit championships for Britain in 1955<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikecult.com/bikecultbook/sports_trackWorlds1.html |title=Bike Cult Book: Track Champions: Worlds 1957--1893 |accessdate=2009-09-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228154742/http://www.bikecult.com/bikecultbook/sports_trackWorlds1.html |archive-date=28 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and 1958 and rode the [[1960 Tour de France|Tour de France in 1960]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/fr/TDF/1960/coureurs/126.html|title=Historique du Tour de France|work=letour.fr|access-date=21 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709105346/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/fr/TDF/1960/coureurs/126.html|archive-date=9 July 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He became national coach of the [[British Cycling Federation]] and later of the [[Canadian Cycling Association]]. He returned to racing in 1998, one month after the birth of his grandson,and won the world points championship for over-65s, in Manchester England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fatnick.com/picns1.htm|title=Fat Nick's photos: Norman Sheil at the World Masters Track Champs|website=www.fatnick.com}}</ref>


==Origins==
==Origins==
Norman Sheil started club riding with the Phoenix (Aintree) club in Liverpool in 1948. He said: "I shall never forget those 40 miles, especially the look on my mother's face when she saw me after the run ended. She thought I was deadly ill or something. And I didn't feel so good, as a matter of fact." <ref>The Bicycle, UK, 7 July 1954, p8</ref>
Born in Liverpool on 22 October 1932,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=23621|title=Norman Sheil|author=Cycling|work=cyclingarchives.com}}</ref> Norman Sheil started club riding with the Phoenix (Aintree) club in Liverpool in 1948. He said: "I shall never forget those 40 miles, especially the look on my mother's face when she saw me after the run ended. She thought I was deadly ill or something. And I didn't feel so good, as a matter of fact."<ref name="auto">The Bicycle, UK, 7 July 1954, p8</ref>


He rode his first race at the end of 1948, using a bicycle he had built himself from a frame given to him by an uncle, Bill Cronshaw, a racer in the 1920s. <ref>The Bicycle, UK, 7 July 1954, p8</ref> He rode a 25-mile [40km] time-trial in 1h 9m 4s. By 1949 he had improved to 1h 3m 30s, in an event held by the Molyneux club on [[Merseyside]]. He moved clubs, from the Phoenix to Walton Paragon, rode a little in 1950 and was then called for [[national service]] in February 1951. He spent two years as a naval signalman but without cycling.
He rode his first race at the end of 1948, using a bicycle he had built himself from a frame given to him by an uncle, Bill Cronshaw, a racer in the 1920s.<ref name="auto"/> As his love of bike racing continued to get stronger. Fellow L'Pool racers were telling Norman. "If you want to get real good at bike racing then you have to meet Eddie Soens." Eddie met Norman by the front door of the Soens bike shop. "What can I do for you lad ?" Eddie asked. "I've heard. That to become a great bike rider I need to associate myself with you". From there Norman rode a 25-mile [40&nbsp;km] time-trial in 1h 9m 4s. By 1949 he had improved to 1h 3m 30s, in an event held by the Molyneux club on [[Merseyside]]. He moved clubs, from the Phoenix to Walton Paragon, rode a little in 1950 and was then called for [[national service]] in February 1951. He spent two years as a naval signalman but without cycling. After his return from service Norman joined the Melling Wheelers.


==Amateur career==
==Amateur career==
Sheil was the first British rider to ride a 25-mile time-trial in 55 minutes, using a 48x15 [[fixed wheel]] (i.e. 86 inch gear) in 1957.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=4265|title=Canadian Cyclist - BTAC ExpoCycle Update, Mississauga Midweek Awards Dinner, Women's Tour of Switzerland, Tour de l'Avenir, Hour Record Attempt, Vuelta Espana|date=12 September 2001|work=canadiancyclist.com|accessdate=15 November 2018}}</ref> He held national records at 5, 10, 25 miles and 1 hour (26miles 1398yds).<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/>


⚫
Sheil won the [[1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1954 Empire Games]] pursuit championship in 5m 3.5sec, beating his England teammate Pete Brotherton by six seconds. His title and then a national record time of 5m 10s later that year in London made selection for the following year's world championship in Milan inevitable. Sheil met the defending champion, [[Leandro Faggin]] of Italy, in the semi-final. Sheil won that match and Brotherton won his so that the two Britons met in the final. Sheil won in a British record of 4m 57s.
In July 1954, <i>The Bicycle</i> wrote:


⚫
==Tour de France==
:We have to turn the calendar back [<i>only</i>] 12 months to the start of his racing flight to stardom. A 56m 41s '25' 5only 12 seconds off competition record), a 5m 15.1s 4,000 metres which gained him the national pursuit record (and this in his first ride on Herne Hill track) and 'plum' of his life - a ticket to [[Vancouver]], Canada, this month to represent England in the [[Empire Games]]... As young as his career is, he has had a bitter disappointment already. After returning a fine 56-41 (after puncturing) Sheil suffered punctures two week-ends running in very important events - the Solihull Invitation 25 and then the National Championship 25... The one-hour unpaced record, the 1,000 metres and other records are among the things he would like to try. <ref>The Bicycle, UK, 7 July 1954, p8</ref>
⚫
Sheil raced on the road in France after winning the pursuit championship for the second time, winning six times.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/> He was one of several British riders such as [[Stan Brittain]], Harry Reynolds and John Kennedy. Two others—[[Tom Simpson]] and [[Brian Robinson (cyclist)|Brian Robinson]]—were more established there. The growing number of British riders in France, and the end of a civil war between the [[National Cyclists Union]] and the [[British League of Racing Cyclists]],<ref>The two disagreed over the benefit and risk of massed racing on the open road, the NCU having been against since the 19th century, the BLRC opening in opposition during the second world war. Both sides and the sport in general fought to physical and financial exhaustion before merging to become the British Cycling Federation in 1959.</ref> led the Tour de France to invite a team of eight from Britain in 1960. The Tour was still disputed by national rather than trade teams.


⚫
Only Robinson and Simpson finished, 26th and 29th.<ref>Fotheringham, William (2005), Roule Britannia, Yellow Jersey, UK, {{ISBN|978-0-224-07425-4}}, p267</ref> Sheil dropped out after crashing on the 11th stage,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tourbrits.htm|title=Professional Cycling Palmarès Site - Races: English speaking riders at the Tour de France|work=ntlworld.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602130208/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tourbrits.htm|archive-date=2 June 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> when he was in 14th place.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/>
⚫
Sheil won the Empire Games pursuit championship in 5m 3.5sec, beating his England team-mate Pete Brotherton by six seconds. His title and then a national record time of 5m 10s later that year in London made selection for the following year's world championship in Milan inevitable. Sheil met the defending champion, [[Leandro Faggin]] of Italy, in the semi-final. Sheil won that match and Brotherton won his so that the two Britons met in the final. Sheil won in a British record of 4m 57s. He said:


==Coaching==
:I was invited to ride the revenge series in Amsterdam against Piet van Heusden who had been champion in 1954. Piet won that match which was very good for the public. After that I raced quite a lot on many tracks and came to know [[Arie van Vliet]], [[ Jan Derksen]], [[Reg Harris]] and many other great bike riders. After a year out of championship riding I won the title again in 1958 in Paris beating Frenchman Gaudrillot in the final. Later I went to live in France and raced on the road for a year.<ref>Private letter</ref>
Sheil retired from racing soon after the Tour, his last international race taking place in San Sebastian, Spain, in 1963. In 1965 he became national coach in Britain, helping establish the British Cycle Coaching Scheme and the English (now British) Schools Cycling Association. He held the job until 1972.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/> He was Canadian national coach from 1978 to 1982, then a track coach in the US in 1989.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/> He died at his home in [[Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario]] on 25 October 2018, following complications of both leukaemia and vascular dementia, leaving behind his wife Rachel,

his son, Martin and his family, including his grandson, Benjamin.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://pedalmag.com/legendary-british-racer-and-canadian-coach-norman-sheil-passes-away/|title=Legendary British Racer and Canadian Coach Norman Sheil Passes Away|date=27 October 2018|work=Pedal Magazine|access-date=29 October 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
⚫
==Tour de France==
⚫
Sheil raced on the road in France after winning the pursuit championship for the second time, winning six times<ref>http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=4265</ref>. He was one of several British riders such as [[Stan Brittain]], Harry Reynolds and John Kennedy. Two others - [[Tom Simpson]] and [[Brian Robinson]] - were more established there. The growing number of British riders in France, and the end of a civil war between the [[National Cyclists Union]] and the [[British League of Racing Cyclists]]<ref>The two disagreed over the benefit and risk of massed racing on the open road, the NCU having been against since the 19th century, the BLRC opening in opposition during the second world war. Both sides and the sport in general fought to physical and financial exhaustion before merging to become the British Cycling Federation in 1959.</ref>, led the Tour de France to invite a team of eight from Britain in 1960. The Tour was still disputed by national rather than trade teams.

⚫
Only Robinson and Simpson finished, 26th and 29th.<ref>Fotheringham, William (2005), Roule Britannia, Yellow Jersey, UK, ISBN 9 780224 0744254, p267</ref> Sheil dropped out after crashing on the 11th stage, <ref>http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tourbrits.htm</ref> when he was in 14th place. <ref>http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=4265</ref>


==Golden Book of Cycling==
==Golden Book of Cycling==
He has an entry in The [[Golden Book of Cycling]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepedalclub.org/archives/goldenbook/k-o/NormanSheil.html|title=Golden Book - Norman Sheil|work=thepedalclub.org|access-date=21 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301200918/http://www.thepedalclub.org/archives/goldenbook/k-o/NormanSheil.html|archive-date=1 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The [[Golden Book of Cycling]] says of Sheil:


⚫
==References==
:Sport has rarely known such a sensational rise to international eminence as that in 1954 and 1955 of Norman Sheil. A series of winning performances in 25-mile road time-trials brought Sheil (who was already recognised in Liverpool to have great potentialities) into the national limelight early in 1954; some equally notable track performances put him among the favourites for the British pursuit championship. He smashed the British 4,000 metres pursuit record with a time of 15min 15.1sec in his qualifying ride for the title, his first event at Herne Hill. Sheil reached the final with P. Brotherton, (subsequently beating him), and since then the fortunes of the two men have been closely linked.
{{Reflist}}


{{British Cycling Hall of Fame}}
:They represented England in the Empire Games pursuit event at Vancouver, in August 1954, and were first and second. Sheil's winning time of 5min 3.5sec being the fastest ever recorded by an Englishman. In Germany they contested the world title series; Sheil finishing third and Brotherton second. In London in September, Sheil, as already stated, won the British title final and his time, 5min 10sec, was a British race record.
{{Authority control}}

:On road and track in 1955 Sheil's dominance continued: his second British pursuit title was an early honour, the 25-mile road time trial record with the first ride inside 56 min (55min 51sec) showed that the brilliance was sustained at the end of July; then came the peak performance of British pursuit history when, in Milan in September, Sheil eliminated the reigning world's champion, Faggin of Italy, at the semi-final stage, and went on to defeat Brotherton with a time of 4min 57sec, yet again the fastest time ever recorded by an Englishman, to become the 1955 amateur pursuit champion of the world.<ref>http://www.thepedalclub.org/archives/goldenbook/k-o/NormanSheil.html</ref>

⚫
==References==
{{reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheil, Norman}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:British cyclists]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:English cyclists]]
[[Category:English male cyclists]]
[[Category:Canadian cyclists]]
[[Category:British male cyclists]]
[[Category:Track cyclists]]
[[Category:Canadian male cyclists]]
[[Category: world cycling champions]]
[[Category:English track cyclists]]
[[Category:People from Nottingham]]
[[Category:British track cyclists]]
[[Category:Cyclists from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling]]
[[Category:English cycling coaches]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]

Latest revision as of 05:15, 2 November 2024

Norman Sheil
Personal information
Full nameNorman Leslie Sheil
Born(1932-10-22)22 October 1932
Liverpool, England
Died25 October 2018(2018-10-25) (aged 86)
Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Team information
DisciplineRoad and track
RoleRider
Rider typeEndurance
Amateur team
Melling Wheelers
Medal record
Representing  England
UCI World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1955 Milan Individual pursuit
Gold medal – first place 1958 Paris Individual pursuit
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1954 Vancouver Individual pursuit
Gold medal – first place 1958 Cardiff Individual pursuit

Norman Leslie Sheil (22 October 1932 – 25 October 2018) was a racing cyclist who won world pursuit championships for Britain in 1955[1] and 1958 and rode the Tour de France in 1960.[2] He became national coach of the British Cycling Federation and later of the Canadian Cycling Association. He returned to racing in 1998, one month after the birth of his grandson,and won the world points championship for over-65s, in Manchester England.[3]

Origins

[edit]

Born in Liverpool on 22 October 1932,[4] Norman Sheil started club riding with the Phoenix (Aintree) club in Liverpool in 1948. He said: "I shall never forget those 40 miles, especially the look on my mother's face when she saw me after the run ended. She thought I was deadly ill or something. And I didn't feel so good, as a matter of fact."[5]

He rode his first race at the end of 1948, using a bicycle he had built himself from a frame given to him by an uncle, Bill Cronshaw, a racer in the 1920s.[5] As his love of bike racing continued to get stronger. Fellow L'Pool racers were telling Norman. "If you want to get real good at bike racing then you have to meet Eddie Soens." Eddie met Norman by the front door of the Soens bike shop. "What can I do for you lad ?" Eddie asked. "I've heard. That to become a great bike rider I need to associate myself with you". From there Norman rode a 25-mile [40 km] time-trial in 1h 9m 4s. By 1949 he had improved to 1h 3m 30s, in an event held by the Molyneux club on Merseyside. He moved clubs, from the Phoenix to Walton Paragon, rode a little in 1950 and was then called for national service in February 1951. He spent two years as a naval signalman but without cycling. After his return from service Norman joined the Melling Wheelers.

Amateur career

[edit]

Sheil was the first British rider to ride a 25-mile time-trial in 55 minutes, using a 48x15 fixed wheel (i.e. 86 inch gear) in 1957.[6] He held national records at 5, 10, 25 miles and 1 hour (26miles 1398yds).[6]

Sheil won the 1954 Empire Games pursuit championship in 5m 3.5sec, beating his England teammate Pete Brotherton by six seconds. His title and then a national record time of 5m 10s later that year in London made selection for the following year's world championship in Milan inevitable. Sheil met the defending champion, Leandro Faggin of Italy, in the semi-final. Sheil won that match and Brotherton won his so that the two Britons met in the final. Sheil won in a British record of 4m 57s.

Tour de France

[edit]

Sheil raced on the road in France after winning the pursuit championship for the second time, winning six times.[6] He was one of several British riders such as Stan Brittain, Harry Reynolds and John Kennedy. Two others—Tom Simpson and Brian Robinson—were more established there. The growing number of British riders in France, and the end of a civil war between the National Cyclists Union and the British League of Racing Cyclists,[7] led the Tour de France to invite a team of eight from Britain in 1960. The Tour was still disputed by national rather than trade teams.

Only Robinson and Simpson finished, 26th and 29th.[8] Sheil dropped out after crashing on the 11th stage,[9] when he was in 14th place.[6]

Coaching

[edit]

Sheil retired from racing soon after the Tour, his last international race taking place in San Sebastian, Spain, in 1963. In 1965 he became national coach in Britain, helping establish the British Cycle Coaching Scheme and the English (now British) Schools Cycling Association. He held the job until 1972.[6] He was Canadian national coach from 1978 to 1982, then a track coach in the US in 1989.[6] He died at his home in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario on 25 October 2018, following complications of both leukaemia and vascular dementia, leaving behind his wife Rachel, his son, Martin and his family, including his grandson, Benjamin.[10]

Golden Book of Cycling

[edit]

He has an entry in The Golden Book of Cycling.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bike Cult Book: Track Champions: Worlds 1957--1893". Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  2. ^ "Historique du Tour de France". letour.fr. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Fat Nick's photos: Norman Sheil at the World Masters Track Champs". www.fatnick.com.
  4. ^ Cycling. "Norman Sheil". cyclingarchives.com.
  5. ^ a b The Bicycle, UK, 7 July 1954, p8
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Canadian Cyclist - BTAC ExpoCycle Update, Mississauga Midweek Awards Dinner, Women's Tour of Switzerland, Tour de l'Avenir, Hour Record Attempt, Vuelta Espana". canadiancyclist.com. 12 September 2001. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  7. ^ The two disagreed over the benefit and risk of massed racing on the open road, the NCU having been against since the 19th century, the BLRC opening in opposition during the second world war. Both sides and the sport in general fought to physical and financial exhaustion before merging to become the British Cycling Federation in 1959.
  8. ^ Fotheringham, William (2005), Roule Britannia, Yellow Jersey, UK, ISBN 978-0-224-07425-4, p267
  9. ^ "Professional Cycling Palmarès Site - Races: English speaking riders at the Tour de France". ntlworld.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Legendary British Racer and Canadian Coach Norman Sheil Passes Away". Pedal Magazine. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Golden Book - Norman Sheil". thepedalclub.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
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