Bob Addy

Bob Addy had a long cycling career as both an amateur and professional. Although not a prolific winner, he was regularly amongst the podium finishers and enjoyed his finest moment when he won the 1963 British Amateur Road Racing Championship at Buxton, Derbyshire. The previous year he had won the sixth stage of the Tour of Britain Milk Race from Bournemouth to Brighton.

Addy went to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and took part in the team time trial but was overlooked for the road race, despite being one of Britain´s strongest riders. He also competed in the gruelling Tour de l´Avenir in 1964 and 1965, and enjoyed two third place stage finishes in a race described as the amateurs´ Tour de France. After turning professional in 1965, Addy became the first of many well-known recruits to the successful Holdsworth-Campagnolo team and in 1968 he rode in the Tour de France, but bad accidents on stages 10 and 11 forced him to retire.

After reverting back to amateur status in 1973, Addy continued racing and also ran his own cycle shop. He later emigrated to Australia where he continued racing and went on to enjoy a successful career as a veteran and coach.

Addy enjoyed setting records and the 261.863 miles he covered in 12 hours in 1985 was a Hemel Hempstead CC record that stood until 2002. His time if 7-41:13 for the London to York run in 1992 stood as a record for over 20 years. Addy´s son Harvey was also a keen cyclist and like his father was a member of the Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club. In 1990 he won an award for being one of the club´s top juniors. Addy wrote his autobiography: “The Driller: Life Cycle”, which was published in 2022.