John Allis, a three-time Olympic racer, edged from a pack of four with a very fast final spring to win the 34th Harvard-Wellesley bicycle race yesterday.
Allis, who was appearing in his eleventh Harvard-Wellesley race, edged out second place finisher Bill Bridge with a time of 29 minutes, 56 seconds, shaving five minutes from last year's time.
Bridge, however, was the first Harvard finisher, and thus received the Raleigh Grand Prix bicycle donated by the Bicycle Exchange. Allis and Bridge, along with Jim Williams and John Baldo, broke from the main pack coming up the final, long hill to finish well ahead of the others.
The race was run without any serious mishap, due to the cooperation and coordination of the police. The only accident occurred at the start, when two inexperienced riders scraped against the curb and tumbled to the ground. They received minor scrapes, and one dropped out of the race. Only one other person, out of 51 starters, did not finish.
The winner of the 3-speed category was Gary Klein, with a time of 37 minutes, 51 seconds. The first female finisher was Janet Hackey, who walked away with a pair of cycling shoes. The last finisher was Anita Schell, and the oldest finisher was Peter Frisbee, 29.
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