Nearly 50 years after riding to fame in the ‘Tour de Lanka,’ Anthony Symons’ love affair with his racing bike has not ended. The veteran rode in the racing class in the recently conducted ‘Sabaragamuwa Cycling Championship’ and was placed fourth in the All-Island Invitational Masters’ Over-45 category. Incidentally, he celebrated 50 years of competitive cycling when he took part in the event at Ratnapura.

Riding in the Masters events, Symons now considers entering international veterans’ competitions. He hopes to take part in the ‘Masters World Championships’ to be held in Italy towards the end of the year, representing ‘Staten Island Cycling Association’ of New York, USA, for whom he rode in the ‘Annual St. George’s Cycling Classic’ in New York in 1996 and ‘New York Tour’ in 2001.

Decades after competing in ‘Tour de Lanka,’ Symons took part in the ‘Annual St. George’s Cycling Classic’ in New York in 1996 and representing ‘Staten Island Cycling Association,’ he was placed 12th in the Over-50 category where 62 competitors representing 50 states of USA and Canada competed. Six years later, he represented the same club and competed in the ‘New York Tour’ in 2001 and was among the first 20 in the team event. The race was participated by over 34,000 cyclists.

It is the same club that Symons wants to represent if he finds a sponsor to help him in his journey to Italy for the ‘Masters World Championship,’ he told ‘Sunday Island – Sportstar’ last week.

Being felicitated by cycling enthusiasts of Ratnapura after his 26-mile veterans’ ride, Symons is happy that the cycling fraternity in his locality has acknowledged him.

"It was a nice experience to be appreciated by the people you are living with," said Symons after the ceremony early this month. The felicitation was organised by cycling enthusiasts of Ratnapura and it coincided with the ‘Sabaragamuwa Cycling Championship’ conducted by the District Cycling Association, Ratnapura, under the supervision of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka.

A student of St. Aloysius’ College, Ratnapura, Anthony Symons’ success story in cycling started in 1958 when he joined ‘Paragon Paddlers.’ He started with a bang emerging the Paragon Champion of the year in 1960 to drop his amateur status. He was also the most popular cyclist that year. It was a landmark year in cycling in the country as Sri Lanka made its Olympic debut that year with Maurice Kumaravel, a contemporary of Symons, going to Rome to compete in Olympic cycling.

"I too was selected for Rome Olympics but failed to make the journey because of lack of funds," said Symons. From 1960 to date, Symons has won many an accolade not only for the prowess he has in cycling but also for his contribution to the development of the sport.

Former winner of ‘Tour de Lanka,’ Symons claims that he has the credit of taking part in the most number of editions, 15 years, in that race. He also humbly claims to have won almost all cycling classics held in Jaffna, Trincomalee, Nuwara Eliya, Batticaloa, Kandy, Nikaweratiya, Ratnapura and Kegalle.

According to Symons, he is also the first cyclist to set a long distance record in 1960 by clocking an average of 20 MPH in the ‘Nestle Gluco-B’ 125 miles race. Symons won a hat-trick of ‘Gluco-B’ titles from ’60-62. In Kandy, Symons won the ‘Open Annual Kandurata’ race three consecutive years from ’60-62, a record, he says, which still remains.

Although he has not won many ‘Tour de Lanka’ editions, he was a popular figure and his popularity was still there two decades after his debut when he became runner-up in a contest selecting the Most Popular Cyclist in year 1982.

He joined SL Army and, while captaining the Army team, he won many national events and was awarded Army colours in ’78. In ’82, Symons took part in the ‘1st International Bicycle Week’ held in Holland and made official visits to France and Belgium. And he still cherishes fond memories of his tour to Amsterdam where he delivered a speech in ‘Cycling as a Sport in Sri Lanka’ in the presence of World delegates gathered in ‘RAI’ International Congress Hall in Amsterdam.

Among other laurels he has achieved, the title victory he recorded in the ‘All-Oman Cycling Classic’ in ’85 is a memorable one. He won the ‘All-Oman Cycling Classics’ held in connection with the Oman’s National Day at the age of 45 while working in Oman Defense Services which was part of the British Army then.

Symons is a former National Coach and a Selector. He coached Sri Lanka teams that won medals at the ‘International Pakistan Tour’, ‘SAARC Games,’ ‘Malaysian Junior Championships,’ and ‘SA Games.’

At the age of 65, Symons’ thirst to paddle has still not died and he continues to coach the youngsters at his hometown Ratnapura. He is a founder member of the ‘Ratnapura District Cycling Association’ which was established in the early ’70s and he says it is the most active association in the island now.