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{{short description|English cyclist}}

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{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
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| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| fullname = Norman Sheil
| fullname = Norman Leslie Sheil
| nickname =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1932|10|22}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1932|10|22}}
| birth_place = [[Liverpool]], England
| 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 =
| height =
| weight =
| weight =
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| ridertype = Endurance
| ridertype = Endurance
| amateuryears1 =
| amateuryears1 =
| amateurteam1 =
| amateurteam1 = Melling Wheelers
| proyears1 =
| proyears1 =
| proteam1 =
| proteam1 =
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| medaltemplates =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{ENG}}}}
{{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|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 – Men's individual pursuit|Individual pursuit]]}}
{{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 – Men's individual pursuit|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
| show-medals = yes
}}
}}
'''Norman Sheil''' (born 22 October 1932 in Liverpool, England<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=23621|title=Norman Sheil|author=Cycling|work=cyclingarchives.com}}</ref>) is a retired racing cyclist who won world pursuit championships for Britain in 1955<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikecult.com/bikecultbook/sports_trackWorlds1.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2009-09-02 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228154742/http://www.bikecult.com/bikecultbook/sports_trackWorlds1.html |archivedate=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}}</ref> He became national coach of the [[British Cycling Federation]] and later of the Canadian federation. He returned to racing in the 1998 and won the world points championship for over-65s, in Manchester England.<ref>http://www.fatnick.com/picns1.htm</ref> Norman currently resides in [[Niagara-on-the-Lake]], Canada.
'''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 name="auto">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 name="auto"/> He 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.
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|work=canadiancyclist.com}}</ref> He held national records at 5, 10, 25 miles and 1 hour (26miles 1398yds).<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/>
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 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.
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.


==Tour de France==
==Tour de France==
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.
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|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602130208/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tourbrits.htm|archivedate=2 June 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> when he was in 14th place.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/>
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"/>


==Coaching==
==Coaching==
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 USA in 1989.<ref name="canadiancyclist.com"/>
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>


==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}}</ref>
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>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{British Cycling Hall of Fame}}
{{British Cycling Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheil, Norman}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheil, Norman}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:English male cyclists]]
[[Category:English male cyclists]]
⚫
[[Category:British male cyclists]]
[[Category:Canadian male cyclists]]
[[Category:Canadian male cyclists]]
[[Category:English track cyclists]]
[[Category:English track cyclists]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Liverpool]]
[[Category:British track cyclists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cyclists from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Cyclists at the 1958 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 gold medallists for England]]
⚫
[[Category:Tour de France cyclists]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling]]
[[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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