Steele Bishop
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Steele Bishop |
| Born |
29 April 1953 Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Track |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Pursuitist |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1982 | Mavic - Clemenso |
| 1983–1984 | Malvern Star |
| Major wins | |
| World Champion | |
|
Infobox last updated on 21 January 2009 | |
Steele Bishop (OAM) (born 29 April 1953) is a former track racing cyclist and World Champion.
Biography
Bishop was born in 1953 in Subiaco, Western Australia.[1]
From 1971 until his retirement in 1984, Bishop won numerous Australian professional track titles, including the 5000 metre pursuit eight times. In Western Australia, he won the Westral Wheelrace six times between 1975 and 1984 and won the first two Griffin 1000 road races.
In 1972, at the age of 19, Bishop represented Australia in the 4000 metre team pursuit at the Munich Olympics.[2]
In the world championships in Zürich in 1983, Bishop reached his zenith, retiring shortly after while at the peak of his career: riding in the 5000 metre Individual pursuit on a specially built pursuit bicycle, made in Switzerland by Leo Estermann in 1981. The bicycle was badged Malvern Star by sponsor General Accessories, and later rebadged Steele Bishop. The Estermann stamp on the head tube remains.
A crack in the unusual stem was rectified by Avocet Cycles, owned and operated by John Sampson in Claremont, Western Australia (no longer in business). The bicycle was relatively small framed against the powerfully built Bishop and featured aerodynamic tubing to reduce wind resistance. The bicycle is now in the collection of the Western Australian Museum.
Bishop faced off against Swiss Robert Dill-Bundi, the 1980 Olympic pursuit gold medalist. Riding the race of his life, he caught his opponent three laps from the finish, a feat almost unheard of in world-class cycling, thus winning the race and the championship. He set a personal best, of 5 minutes 51 seconds, in the race and became the first Australian to beat 6 minutes in the event.
Bishop was awarded the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1983 and was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions in 1985.
References
- ↑ W.A. Hall of Champions inductee booklet. (2006) Published by the Western Australian Institute of Sport
- ↑ "Raúl Gómez Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
External links
- Steele Bishop profile at Cycling Archives
