Veteran Peter Ryalls dies

Pioneering British professional Peter Ryalls has died aged 79 after a long battle with cancer, a battle he fought while continuing racing until recently.

Sheffield-born Ryalls won several early British pro races, and was second in the marathon single-day London to Holyhead in 1961.

That performance brought Ryalls a place on the British team for the 1961 Tour de France, but on stage three he stopped to help Tom Simpson, stricken with a knee injury and hardly able to pedal. Ryalls pushed Simpson the rest of the way, but they both finished outside the time limit.

That was Peter Ryalls. He loved racing, but friends are friends, and he and Simpson went way back. Friend John Downsing told Cycling Weekly: “He was like a brother to me, we met in veterans’ races and often went to Belgium together, staying in sheds and tents, anything. He was a fierce competitor but completely different off the bike.”