1. Richard William "Fatty" Lamb was an Australian racing cyclist who competed on both road and track, as was typical of Australian cyclists of the era such as Hubert Opperman.
22 Facts About Richard Lamb
1. 2.
Richard Lamb won the Goulburn to Sydney race twice, in 1925 and 1926.
3.
On each occasion Richard Lamb started from scratch, being the last group to start, and in winning the race, set the fastest time.
4.
The win in 1926 was controversial because Richard Lamb had swapped bikes with another competitor, which was contrary to the written rules, however an official from the NSW Cyclists Union had assured riders before the start that they would not be disqualified for changing bikes.
5.
In 1927 Richard Lamb was again starting from scratch and again set the fastest time, but came 9th on handicap, with the winner JA Shaw starting 52 minutes before Richard Lamb.
6.
Newspapers at the time reported that Richard Lamb was expected to be selected for the Australian team to the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
7.
Richard Lamb competed in the Australian Olympic track trials but was not successful.
8.
Richard Lamb was controversially overlooked for the Australian team, with no rider being sent for the road events and Dunc Gray and Jack Standen being sent for the track events.
9.
Richard Lamb again rode the Goulburn to Sydney in 1928, again from scratch, this time as a professional and came second behind Ken Ross, from scratch.
10.
Richard Lamb then spent six months riding in the United States, defeating motor-paced champion Franco Giorgetti, George Chapman, Charles Jaeger, and Francesco Zucchetti.
11.
Richard Lamb led the first 2 days of the 6 days' race at Chicago but had to withdraw due to injury.
12.
Richard Lamb twice won the Australian national road race title in 1930 and 1932, by winning the Blue Riband for the fastest time in the Warrnambool to Melbourne.
13.
Richard Lamb finished in 35th place and was the last finisher.
14.
In 1932 Richard Lamb won the Brisbane, Six Days with Jack Standen, defeating a quality field including Frankie Thomas, Opperman and Jack Fitzgerald.
15.
Richard Lamb had a falling out with Bruce Small in September 1932, going to work for a rival manufacturer Finlay Brothers.
16.
In February 1933 Richard Lamb rode 60 miles and 575 yards in an hour to break the motor paced record set by Opperman in 1930.
17.
Richard Lamb won the Tour of Tasmania, a six-day stage race covering 566 miles, beating Frankie Thomas by 1 second.
18.
In 1934 Richard Lamb again won the Tour of Tasmania, titled the "Batman 1000" a race over 8 stages covering 1,000 miles starting in Launceston and finishing in Ulverstone.
19.
Richard Lamb narrowly defeated Ern Milliken with Opperman in 3rd place.
20.
Richard Lamb had barely completed one long stage race when he set off in the next, for the rich prize purse in the Centenary 1000, a one-week race over seven stages covering 1,102 miles that carried with it the Australasian road championship title.
21.
Richard Lamb was 3rd and fastest at Sale, and finished 3rd overall in the championship and the Australasian road championship title.
22.
Richard Lamb was born in Melbourne on 26 December 1907, the son of Frederick Richard Lamb and Alice Merrick.