Premier award final accolade for Curran

CYCLIST Paul Curran, the double Commonwealth gold medallist, received his final accolade for 1986 last weekend as he discussed plans for the coming season.

Curran was in Harrogate for the annual luncheon of the Yorkshire Cycling Federation, where he became the latest in a long line of distinguished recipients of the C. A. Rhodes Memorial Award, regarded as the county's premier cycling honour.

Having put all thoughts of a possible professional contract behind him for another year, Curran is eager to follow up a season which saw him win the Commonwealth individual road race as well as helping England to victory in the team time trial at Edinburgh.

"My main disappointment last year was in the world championships in Colorado Springs, where I finished only 48th after being in an early breakaway, and I will be looking for a big improvement in Austria this year," he said.

Curran starts his international programme with a five-day event in Italy in April, and his other targets include the Milk Race and the Manchester to Rhyl and back two-day event, which he won last season and which has been restored to full international status this year.

His first domestic race is likely to be on March 1. "I've been putting in a good three hours on my bike every day, and I have really started training in earnest in the last week," he added.