Maurice Burton (cyclist)

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Maurice Burton Road cycling
To person
Nickname Bimbo
Date of birth October 25, 1955
nation United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
discipline Train , road
Societies)
VC Londres; Archer RC
Team (s)
1977
1978
1979
1979
1980
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984 		unknown
Fragel-Norta (BEL)
Glemp-TJ Cycles (GBR), Fangio-Iso-Bel
Fangio (BEL)
Solaheart-Hercka (BEL)
Campitello (GBR)
Xaveer Coffee-Tiga Sport (GBR)
Viner (BEL)
Roberts (GBR)
Nico Sport (GBR)
Last updated: September 1st, 2017

Maurice Burton (born October 25, 1955 in London ) is a former British cyclist. He was the first black British cycling champion and professional cyclist and was discriminated against because of his skin color.

Athletic career

As an amateur

In 1974 Maurice Burton was the British champion over 20 miles on the track in Leicester . Then he was booed by some spectators, and the trade magazine Cycling Weekly called his victory a mockery ( travesty ). The reason for these reactions was that Burton is black. When he was invited to Barbados to race there the following winter, the British Cycling Federation prohibited him from wearing the British champion's jersey. In the races there he beat the then world champion in sprint , Daniel Morelon . The following year he led the team of his club with a new national record for the title in the team pursuit and was runner-up in the two-man team driving with Steve Heffernan . Despite these excellent performances, the association, to its great disappointment, did not nominate him for the Olympic Games in Montreal .

As a professional

Burton then became a professional cyclist and moved to Ghent in Belgium for a few years . From there it was easier to race across the continent; Belgian cyclists like Patrick Sercu and Eddy Merckx were also his role models. He started in 46 six-day races without ever being on the podium. His best results were fifth places, for example in the 1980 six-day race in Berlin together with Roman Hermann . In the same year he was fourth in the European rail championships in two-man team driving . In 1984 Burton had a bad crash at the six days in Buenos Aires and then had to end his sporting career. Maurice Burton initially worked as a bicycle courier in London until someone offered him a bicycle shop that he still runs today (2013) under the name De Ver Cycles .

family

Burton is the son of a Jamaican and an English mother. His son is Germain Burton, who has already won a national junior title and competed in the junior race at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships . However, he surprisingly stopped cycling in 2016, although he continued to be successful on track and road. The reasons for his decision were not made public; it had not been established whether there was any connection to the bullying and racism in the ranks of British Cycling that athletes had publicly complained about.

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b Maurice Burton is glad his son, Germain, won't face prejudice that blighted his cycling career in the 1970s on telegraph.co.uk v. September 21, 2012
  2. ↑ The European Championships before the founding of the European Cycling Union (UEC) in 1995 are considered unofficial, as they were usually invitation races up to this point in which non-European riders could also take part.
  3. ↑ Germain Burton. In: procyclingstats.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Sam Tobin: Germain Burton leaves British Cycling Olympic Development Program. In: - Cycling Weekly. May 6, 2016, accessed February 11, 2017 .

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Burton, Maurice
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH London