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17 Facts About Norman Sheil

1.

Norman Leslie Sheil was a racing cyclist who won world pursuit championships for Britain in 1955 and 1958 and rode the Tour de France in 1960.

2.

Norman Sheil became national coach of the British Cycling Federation and later of the Canadian Cycling Association.

3.

Norman Sheil returned to racing in 1998, one month after the birth of his grandson, and won the world points championship for over-65s, in Manchester England.

4.

Norman Sheil rode his first race at the end of 1948, using a bicycle he had built himself from a frame given to him by an uncle, Bill Cronshaw, a racer in the 1920s.

5.

Norman Sheil moved clubs, from the Phoenix to Walton Paragon, rode a little in 1950 and was then called for national service in February 1951.

6.

Norman Sheil spent two years as a naval signalman but without cycling.

7.

Norman Sheil held national records at 5,10,25 miles and 1 hour.

8.

Norman Sheil won the 1954 Empire Games pursuit championship in 5m 3.5sec, beating his England teammate Pete Brotherton by six seconds.

9.

Norman Sheil met the defending champion, Leandro Faggin of Italy, in the semi-final.

10.

Norman Sheil won that match and Brotherton won his so that the two Britons met in the final.

11.

Norman Sheil raced on the road in France after winning the pursuit championship for the second time, winning six times.

12.

Norman Sheil was one of several British riders such as Stan Brittain, Harry Reynolds and John Kennedy.

13.

Norman Sheil dropped out after crashing on the 11th stage, when he was in 14th place.

14.

Norman Sheil retired from racing soon after the Tour, his last international race taking place in San Sebastian, Spain, in 1963.

15.

Norman Sheil was Canadian national coach from 1978 to 1982, then a track coach in the US in 1989.

16.

Norman Sheil died at his home in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario on 25 October 2018, following complications of both leukaemia and vascular dementia, leaving behind his wife Rachel, his son, Martin and his family, including his grandchildren, Benjamin, Harry and Jessica.

17.

Norman Sheil has an entry in The Golden Book of Cycling.