Steele Bishop, OAM - World Cycling Champion, Author and current Masters World Record Holder
2019, October - Manchester After 35 years off the bike, I was tempted to train again for the World Masters in Manchester, England. To my astonishment, I not only won the three main events I entered (Pursuit, Scratch and Points) I also won the Time Trial (by a mere .1 of a second). Four Gold Medals. Why did I walk away with gold and others didn't? I applied all the same success principles used in 1983 when I won the World Professional Individual Pursuit Title in Zurich (set out in detail in my first book "Wheels of Steele"). My upcoming book "The Difference Makers" will include the observations of my wife, Sheila, who witnessed what some competitors were not doing and didn't claim a medal.
8 December 2018 - Here I Go Again In September 2017 I was invited to take part in a Legends race. Little did I know that my decision to compete would reignite the cycling passion I retired from back in 1984.
I raced again after more than 34 years in retirement. A few months later, I entered the West Coast Masters State Championships Criterium and won Gold. That started the dream of crushing the current Masters' world record time for the Individual Pursuit.
On 8 December 2018, I did just that - taking an unofficial 2.4 seconds off the world record. My new coach and I were stoked! Once again, it was hours of training and discipline and perseverance, finding the right coach and having trust and faith in him. We then cemented our goals for the Australian and World Championships in 2019. We went to Brisbane in April 2019 for the Australian Masters track championships, where my second goal was achieved. I took 3.5 seconds off the official world record for the 2000m Individual Pursuit for Masters 8 and won a total of three Gold medals. Now for the world championships in Manchester in October. But first - my childhood dream and story ......
After winning his first State championship aged 15 Steele vowed to become “the best cyclist in the world”. He moved states and countries to gain experience mixing with the elite cyclists of the world. At the age of 19 he was the youngest cyclist to be selected for the 1972 Munich Olympics. His career spanned nearly 18 years, nine as an amateur and nine as a professional. Steele was born in 1953 in the hill district of Kalamunda, 35 minutes east of Perth, Western Australia. As the youngest of four children, he was often left to play alone as his nearest sibling was four years older. He played in the family garden kicking a footy and his imagination always had him kicking the winning goal in the last seconds of a game. Always the hero... more |
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Motivation for writing his book
For many years my wife, Sheila, has been encouraging me to record my cycling history for the benefit of my family's future generations. Sheila was persistent, mainly because time was marching on and the fifty years of scrapbook history, photographs and memory were deteriorating. It was also time to try something new in life.
Talking about my career as a champion cyclist does not come easy as I have never been one to big note myself and do not talk about my achievements in cycling unless asked directly.
Then, after consultation with and encouragement from friends and authors, I believed that my story might inspire others to achieve their potential, be it in life, sport or business, whether young or old.
On re-reading the thousands of newspaper clippings in my scrapbooks and “reliving the past”, I recognised that I was an extraordinary achiever in cycling and saw that other people have dreams and aspirations that they never do anything about because they don’t believe in themselves.
I didn’t believe I could write a book, but my sporting lessons helped me trust that I could be coached to do anything I wanted.
