Cycling great dies
Modest champion much loved
REG Arnold (OAM) was regarded as one of the world’s most famous professional cyclists, yet he rarely spoke of his achievements – even with close friends.
The two-time European champion, who dominated the sport in the 1940s and 1950s, died of natural causes at a Nerang nursing home on Tuesday, aged 92.
After growing up on a dairy farm near Mt Warning, Reginald “Reg” Arnold left Australia in April 1946 for Europe where he began his professional riding career.
He won multiple six-day races and sprints before returning to Australia where he sold property on the Gold Coast with Sir Bruce Small, an old friend.
Mr Arnold said he was never bothered by his career not being well known in his home country.
“In Europe, I was a celebrity and treated like a prince,” he said last year.
“I couldn’t walk down the street without someone coming up to me. When I returned to Australia in the early 1960s I just moved quietly back into a normal life. It didn’t bother me at all.”
His career gained belated recognition in recent years when he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2012.
Last year, he was a guest at the opening of the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane,
the cycling venue for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
However his feats were rarely discussed at the Earle Haven Retirement Village’s orchid house where he lived.
Resident Geoffrey Sweet yesterday remembered his friend as a modest, humble, remarkable man.
“He was a really lovely guy who never boasted much about his achievements and was a remarkable friend,” he said.
“We sat at the same dining table three times a day but he never said much about his career. He was always quiet about that but we would always talk about other things.
“Everyone who knew him loved him.”