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| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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Maurice Coomaravel hat-trick of wins in Tour-de-Lanka The Tour de Lanka cycling classic has produced many top riders in the past and Maurice Coomaravel who went on to complete a hat-trick of victories, winning the Tour de Lanka in 1965, 1966 and 1967 was the best. Coomaravel, the outright winner of 'Janata' Trophy at Sri Lanka's most popular sports event the Tour de Lanka has proved himself to be the best rider seen in several years in the sport. Maurice has made seven 'tours' and has won six times, twice on racing cycles and four times on standard machines. His three wins in a row that enabled him to keep the 'Janata' Trophy for himself is something no rider in Sri Lanka can boast about. It was consistency, brilliance and hard work that enabled Coomaravel to reach the top in the sport. No one will doubt the fact that he is the king of all riders in Sri Lanka. He has proved that he is a champ not once or twice but six times. Coomaravel first participated in competitive cycling in 1956 in a sports meet at Arethusa College, Dehiwela where he studied. He borrowed a cycle and came first. He then joined the Spartan Wheelers Club and rode on borrowed cycles till he got his own. His first ever victory was in 1956 in a mass start over 30 miles. From then on he has been winning regularly and his achievements include winning all the major cycle races in Sri Lanka than any other rider in standard or racing cycling. Coomaravel has dominated cycling for over two decades and ran out winner 384 times out of 418 outings in his 20 years as a standard and racing cyclist in every part of the country. He collected as prizes 287 cycles, over 200 trophies and cash as well. Maurice had the honour of representing Ceylon in the Rome Olympics in 1960. He joined the Royal Ceylon Air Force as a leading aircraftsman along with another crack cyclist Chandra Perera who has won the Tour de Lanka twice. He also worked at Ceylon Transport Board as a mechanical foreman for ten years. Two very good pals Maurice and Chandra had trained together for six years and have been cycling daily from Colombo to Katunayake and back. Chandra's home was in Angulna Maurice used to meet him every morning at Dehiwela and they cycle to Katunayake and back - a distance of 60 miles a day, spending two and half hours in the process. Their training those days included cycling trips to Nuwara Eliya and Kandy. Maurice Coomaravel bid adieu to Sri Lanka on 26th November 1977 and took wing to Australia to work with Sanyo-Gutharie, a Melbourne firm. His wife Romayne and daughter Jennie also accompanied him to Australia. In addition to Maurice Coomaravel there were also top notch riders who stole the limelight at some stage or other. They are Jinadasa Alwis, Irwin Fernando, Anthony Symonds, Kingsley Rupasinghe, H.D.J. Basil, Boniface Perera, A.M. Sumanaweera, Wasantha Kumara, Kamal Palitha, Jude Priyantha Fernando. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited were in fact the pioneers in organising cycling events in Sri Lanka and successfully conducted the Janatha cycle races in the 1960s. The ANCL also had a hand in other major cycle races in Sri Lanka. But the Tour de Lanka racing classic always had a great significance with the number of competitors increasing every year. L.F |
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