Joseph McLean

Joe McLean started his cycling with the Bootle St. Christopher’s and Liverpool Unity cycling clubs in the 1950s before moving to the crack Melling Wheelers. In 1960, McLean was in the Wheelers quartet that won the national team pursuit title along with Charlie McCoy, and the non-Olympians David Telfer and George Evans. The previous year McLean had reached the semi-final with Melling’s “B” team and would almost certainly have reached the final, against the “A” team, had it not been for a blow out to one of McLean’s tyres after eight-and-a-half of the ten laps.

Again with McCoy, and Barry Hoban and Mike Gambrill, McLean competed in the 1960 Roma Olympics 4000 metres team pursuit but failed to qualify for the quarter-final after finishing 10th out of 19. Two years later, at the Perth British Empire and Commonwealth Games, McLean competed in the individual pursuit. He also took part at that year’s world championships in Milano and reached the team pursuit quarter-final. The team of McLean, McCoy, Harry Jackson, and Brian Sandy were eliminated by the Soviet Union, despite setting a British record. Also in 1962, McLean was in the Melling squad that lost to Old Portlians in the national team pursuit final.